Star Wars Rebels: Clashing Forces
by RedtailHawk19
Summary: Zaria Saijtoir is a warrior, a surivior. Forced in an Imperial controlled galaxy to do things she'd rather not. After a long mission away from Lothal. Zaria comes back to find her adopted brother has joined a rebel cell. Zaria is faced with the decision of laying low or joining the fight against the Empire. Under construction, I am rewriting chapters and will be reposting them .
1. Chapter 1

**Cashing forces**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars Rebels or anything star wars related. Just my characters and some of the plot.**

 **Just having fun writing.**

 **Here's a link to a pictures I drew of Zaria and her parents. And pics of her clothes.**

 **RedtailHawk19 at deviantart  
**

 **I like to draw clothes and write so I can get better.**

 **I adore the design of the sith purebloods. But I have taken liberties of my own. But I plan on explaining lots of things later on.**

 **Prologue**

Zaria opened the door to the old com tower. The door sliding open with a soft hiss.

Zaria crept noiselessly in the room. Ezra's deep sleep breathing making her ears twitch. Zaria's steps were quiet enough that even if Ezra had been awake in his hammock he wouldn't have hear her coming. Zaria set the hologram message and a lunchbox on his bedside table. She steeled herself. Erza could handle himself while she was gone for a mission on Tatooine. She hopefully would not take to long.

Zaria brushed away a lock of hair from his eyes.

"Ziur j'us veek brolin."* She murmured fondly.

Then, like a shadow she left back into the night as if she were never there at all.

 **This is a line break.**

Ezra Bridger yawned and stretched his arms over his head. The sunlight hitting his face. Ezra sniffed. He looked at his bedside table. He grinned Zaria had left him some breakfast now he had one less meal to worry about for today. He eagerly grabbed the box. Knocking the hologram message onto the floor. A hologram of Zaria flared to life.

"Hey little brolin, I am sorry I couldn't be here in person to tell you. But Visago had a job that paid to well to turn down, I have to take it. But it's an off world job. I am hunting a traitor on Tatooine, it could take awhile. So I will be gone for a while. But I left supplies and credits with TZ-34 my, as you call him, my nanny droid. He is at your old house waiting. Don't be so sassy with TZ-34 you know he hates it. Be strong while I am gone, I will try to be back soon. Don't do anything to stupid. Be smart while I am gone, I know you will do well on your own. Take care until I get back. Keep up your training." Zaria's message paused. As if she were abashed about what she would say next. "And. . . Remember that I love you. Don't get yourself killed while I'm gone. I would miss you. Okay enough of the mushy stuff. We will see each other soon." The hologram shut off.

Ezra frowned.

"Well as long as it's not to long."

So, Ezra waited.

And waited, and soon it was seven months. Ezra had lost hope that Zaria would return.

 **Chapter 1**

Zaria Saijtoir stepped off the ramp with relief. It was good to be back on Lothal. Tatooine was dreadfully hot, what with three suns what planet wouldn't be. Zaria wore a black clothed head wrap and poncho to hide her unique features. Zaria couldn't afford to draw attention from the Empire or anyone else. So, the trip had not been comfy with the dense obscuring cloth on her face and head.

It had been an effective and consequential trip.

Zaria had Xen Cato's head in her bag. She had to go give it to Visago so she could get paid. Xen had been a simpleton who double crossed Visago the head of the broken horn crime syndicate and no one crossed Visago. So, Zaria jumped at the chance to make good easy money. But it turned out her target was a lot harder to catch then she first assumed. What had been a one month mission turned into seven months. But she had prevailed and had an opportunity filled trip.

Zaria patted her other bag.

It had ancient sith vibrodaggers and vibrosword, and a talisman to help with focus. One of the daggers and the talisman were gifts for Zaria's friend Erza. It was his birthday tomorrow. Hopefully the gifts could make up her being gone for so long. She would need all the help she could get. Ezra was Zaria's only friend.

He was two and half years younger than Zaria at fifteen, fifteen years tomorrow.

Zaria felt a kinship with the human. He was an orphan like her, and he was force sensitive like her. Zaria supposed that was the real draw to why she was so adoring of him. Zaria had fought with herself on whether she should train Ezra in the force. Not just teach him tricks. But after meditating on the matter Zaria saw she was not meant to be his teacher. She wondered if Ezra had found his mentor yet. Zaria had met him when he was eight years old and hopeless at stealing or surviving on his own. Zaria could see his potential though so she taught him how to live in a new world without his parents. Zaria had been eight years old when her own parents had been killed. He was a younger brother to her. Zaria considered him family.

Zaria set off for her home. Tomorrow she would bring Ezra some Lothal spice cake and his presents and they could spend the day together. She could get back into Ezra's good graces with some time.

Zaria walked through the destitute streets. The two moons of Lothal shined pearlescent tonight. She entered the alley where she had stashed her speeder bike.

The sleek black and red speeder was still there. Zaria climbed on, the quiet purr of the engine humming as she drove to Visago's camp, then she could return to her home. Zaria's home was an old abandoned jedi temple. Zaria loved her home.

She had found it when she was ten years old and had made it her own. It was the ideal base for her. It hid her use of the force when she trained. But it wouldn't be safe for Ezra. He was not ready. So Zaria had found him his own base. An old com tower.

Zaria's sharp golden eyes caught sight of Visago's camp. Visago was waiting for her as she slowed her bike down.

"So my shadow, did you complete the job? Took you long enough."

Zaria rolled her eyes.

"Would I be here if I had not? And you did not tell me Xen could shape-shift. Job would have gotten done a lot faster if you had given me all the information." She hissed at him as she reached into the bag with the head and threw it at Visago's feet. Dead eyes stared up at him. Visago kicked the Clawdite head away from him.

Visago brought out the case of credits he promised her.

"Job well done. Why don't you stay and have a drink with me? I bet you are beautiful under that head dress of yours." Visago leered at her.

He had been trying for years to see under her head dress.

"That little human pet of yours has been bugging me about you every time he comes with those new friends of his."

"Ezra?" Zaria blinked in surprise.

Visago snapped his fingers.

"Yes, him. Do me a favor and tell him you are alive. And about that drink?"

"I will let Ezra know you didn't kill me. No thanks to the drink, maybe another time. I will go sleep, and I have an angry Ezra, I need to meet tomorrow. Pleasure to do business as always, catch you around." Zaria left before Visago could say another word.

She yawned under her head wrap.

She was glad to make it home in record time. She enters the temple and closed the door shut behind her. She stretched her arms into the air and took of her head dress and poncho. It felt good to free her head from the cloth.

"Master, I'm so glad you are home at last. I told the boy you did not expire." TZ-34 walked towards her. Picked up her fell things.

"Good to see you to TZ-34, we have our morning spar tomorrow."

Zaria shook her hair. The gold bands on her long obsidian dreadlocks jingled from hitting each other. Zaria entered her room. TZ-34 followed. It was a refurbished meditation room. She sat down in front of her mirror. And applied moisturizer to her dark red skin. Tatooine had dried her out. Zaria removed her gold piercings. First her two lips piercings, her lip ring and stud below her bottom lip. Then, her eyebrow stalk bands, her earrings, her bands on her two chin tendrils. She carefully removed the nose stud from her left nostril. Now, she could go to sleep.

"Shall I leave you to recharge master?" TZ-34 inquired.

"Yes, good night TZ-34."

Zaria didn't even bother taking off her dusty clothes and laid face down on her bed and quickly fell asleep.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria clapped her hands as she performed her push ups. She was almost done with her morning routine. Her morning spar with TZ-34 had been invigorating.

"200." Zaria jumped up and wiped her forehead.

Zaria looked at the time, it almost noon.

"Erza should be up by now." Zaria chuckled.

Zaria stretched her arms over her head. She had better change her clothes and head out. Zaria put on her long sleeved light blue shirt, her black skirt, white tights and black boots. The last the to be put on was her dark gray poncho. The poncho hood wrapped around her head like a mask. Only her eyes could be seen.

Zaria slid her satchel over her shoulder. Made sure her money, weapons, and Ezra's presents were packed away.

"Tell the boy happy creation day for me, master!" TZ-34 called from his own room.

"I will, see you later."

Zaria exited the temple and climbed on to speeder.

She sped off to Ezra's tower.

Zaria frowned as she looked around the empty room in Ezra's tower. Ezra was not here. He had not been there for weeks. Where was he if he was not here? Zaria sighed.

"No use hanging around here then." Zaria walked out onto the balcony then jumped down to the ground. Zaria used the force to land gracefully onto the ground.

"Might as well go see the celebrations in the city." Zaria directed her bike towards the city.

The streets were packed with beings. Imperialis searching the crowd. Zaria parked her bike near Ezra's old home and stalked over to the imperial officer.

The man was glaring at his datapad. It had a picture of a lime green Rodian on it.

Zaria bumped into him.

"Oh I'm so sorry." Zaria picked the datapad up from off the ground. Dusted the dirt of it, she inspected the picture.

"I'm so clumsy." Zaria simpered from under her head wrap.

The human snatched the datapad from her.

His ISB helmet skewed to one side. He angrily fixed it.

"You must have important work to do, Agent. I'm so glad our galaxy is in your capable hands." Zaria says sweetly before he could retort.

"Yes, well see you are more careful." The agent tells her dismissively.

"Oh I will, happy empire day." Zaria bowed as she backed away. The agent went back to searching the crowd.

Zaria was curious, why did the empire want this Rodian so badly? Zaria wondered how much they would pay her if she was the one to find him. Zaria's thoughts were broken as she felt Ezra's presence. It was different more focused, less wild than before. Did Ezra find a master to teach him while she was gone?

Zaria snuck up behind him.

She grabbed him around the neck playfully.

"Hey brat, miss me?" Ezra squawked in surprise. He twisted out of Zaria's hold.

His blue eyes widened in surprise.

"Zaria!" He hugged her tightly.

"You are alive! You are back!"

Zaria laughed.

"I missed you too." She patted Ezra on his head.

"You were gone for months!" Ezra frowned at her.

"You were supposed to be back in a month. I thought you were never coming back."

Zaria ruffled his hair.

"II came back, I promised I would. I just got a little sidetracked, it's a long story. I will tell you more about it when we are alone. So, how have you been?"

Ezra smiled and shook her hand off his head.

"I'm good, I have so much to tell you about." Ezra stopped as he caught sight of some people. Zaria turned to look too.

"New friends of yours?"

Ezra nodded.

"We are gonna jazz up the celebrations."

"Now? Mind if I tag along?" Zaria was always up for messing with the empire.

"Sure come on, I'll introduce you to them."

The sky lit up with fireworks.

"Hmm pretty." Zaria commented as she gazed up at them.

"That's Sabine's handy work. She this Mandalorian artist who's great at blowing stuff up." Ezra tells her excitedly.

"I cannot wait to meet her." Zaria looked appreciatively up at the sky where another set of colorful fireworks burst.

"Hey there's Kanan." Ezra pointed out a tall dark skinned human with at brown reddish haired ponytail. Zaria blinked, she couldn't believe it. This Kanan was a jedi, he must be Ezra's teacher. Zaria clamped down in her force signature so it appeared she was a non-sensitive. Kanan was accosted by a storm trooper after he slipped an explosive under the new model tie fighter.

"Come on." Ezra ran over to Kanan.

Zaria followed but hung back to observe.

"All the colors- its- it's like a rainbow." Kanan slurred making it seem as if he was drunk.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Ezra grabbed Kanan's arm.

"Sorry my dad is just so patriotic."

Kanan pumped a fist into the air.

"Empire day! I love it! All hail our glorious empire!"

Zaria was impressed, this Kanan was quite the actor. He had to good, if he hid from the Empire successfully after all these years.

The trooper must have lost patience to deal with a drunk civilian so he ushered them away.

"Move along."

"Thanks, where have you been?" Kanan asked Ezra in an undertone.

"Making connections, this is Zaria Saijtoir. She's one of my oldest friends, she just got back planetside today." Ezra brought Kanan over to Zaria.

Kanan looked Zaria over.

"Nice to meet you." He held out his hand.

Zaria shook it.

"The pleasure is all mine. I'm glad Ezra has had someone around to help keep him out of trouble while I have been gone."

A shiver went up Kanan's spine.

He sensed something about her.

"How's the plan going?" Ezra looks at the tie fighter.

Kanan shook himself out of his thoughts and grinned.

"Just watch."

Zaria sensitive ears easily picked up on the rapid beeping of a bomb.

The bomb went off in a spectacular display of fireworks. The tie fighter went up in smoke. Screams and cheers went up from the crowd.

The governor shouted furiously.

"Find who is responsible for this!"

"That should be our cue, to get out of here."

Zaria muttered. She turned and sprinted away, grabbing Ezra's hand and pulling him with her.

Kanan protested and ran to catch up.

"Wait up!"

Two figures from an alley join their run.

A lasat and a young mandalorian who looked three years older than Zaria.

"Who's this?" The purple Lasat grumbled looking at Zaria.

"This is Zaria, she's a friend." Ezra answered.

Kanan stopped the others followed his lead.

Zaria skidded to a stop and turned to look what was keeping them.

Zaria felt the tremble in the force as an inquisitor walked towards the bomb site.

The inquisitor radiated with the dark side.

The Lasat had his rifle pointing at the ISB agent she had bumped into earlier.

"We do not have time for this. Let's go!" Kanan ordered.

Zaria stated at the Pau'an inquisitor. His signature felt familiar.

The Lasat's ears flattened against his head.

"Fine." He said disappointed.

Kanan ran again with the crowd, the rest followed him.

Zaria tore her gaze away from the inquisitor and was swift to catch back up by weaving between people.

"Spectre-2, we are en route to the rendezvous." Kanan spoke into a comlink.

"Negative Spectre-1 the streets are blocked. Rendezvous is impossible. I cannot- I cannot- I repeat I cannot reach rendezvous." The female voice replied from the com.

"I know a place where we can sit tight until things calm down." Ezra spoke up. He pointed to the Lasat.

"But 'shoulders' here might have trouble taking my route."

"Then, we need another option." Kanan demanded.

"Nah, it's fine." The lasat grabbed his com.

"Spectre-2 can you make it to the old market place?"

"Affirmative." The voice confirmed.

"I'm on my way" The Lasat saluted Kanan then climbed up the side of a building.

"See you at these ghost." Then, the Lasat disappeared.

"We will signal a new rendezvous when we can." Kanan called.

They followed Ezra to a sewer grate.

"I see you have been keeping busy. Never pictured you as a rebel." Zaria walked behind Ezra.

"Yeah, me neither but I'm good at it." Ezra grinned.

"I can tell, so introduce me to your rebel friends." Zaria turned so she could walk backwards and look at the other two humans.

"That's Sabine Wren, the explosive artist, and that's Kanan Jarus." Ezra pointed to each of them.

"Guys this is Zaria Saijtoir, she helped me learn how to survive after I've been on my own."

"So, what mandalorian and a jedi huh?" Zaria couldn't resist saying, enjoying the jedi's reaction.

Everyone froze. Sabine drew her blasters.

Zaria rolled her eyes and waved a hand.

"Relax, I hate the empire as much as anyone and I have no quarrel with the Jedi." Kanan glared distrustfully at her.

"Guys, calm down. Zaria is trustworthy, I promise. Now come on, this is the grate when need to take out of here to get to the place." Ezra leads the way out and to his old home.

"This building has an imperial warning declaring this building off limits. It's condemned." Sabine folded her arms across her chest. Ezra didn't reply, he pulled out and old data card and slid it threw the reader. The door hissed then opened.

"Come on." Ezra stepped inside.

"You were coming here today, this was your home wasn't it. Where you grew up."

Kanan's insights were spot on.

"I grew up on the streets." Ezra says bitterly.

"Alone." They walked inside.

Zaria smacked Ezra lightly on his head.

"And what was I? Your imaginary friend?"

Ezra rubbed his head.

"Ow!"

"Why here? Why now?" Sabine pulled off her helmet.

Ezra shifted around the room.

"I don't know, had this feeling." Ezra walked towards the middle of the room and pushed back a rug. Revealed a hidden door underneath. Zaria could hear the soft sobs coming from the secret room.

"Tseebo!"

Ezra gasped.

"Tseebo, Tseebo, it's me Ezra Bridger."

The crying stopped.

The faint clink of an implant made Zaria's ears twitch. A Rodian climbed out of the hole.

The Rodian the ISB agent was searching for. Tseebo muttered nonsense in huttese. He walked straight into a wall.

"He's an imperial slave." Zaria felt pity for the Rodian. She abhorred slavery. It was a disgusting practice.

"He's the one, they're all searching for." Kanan looked excited.

"You know him?"

Ezra sat down.

"Yeah, he was a friend of my parents. But something's wrong. What's that thing on his head?"

Sabine walked over to examine the rodian.

"The empire has implanted cybernetics into their low level technicians. Personality sacrificed for productivity."

The word productivity seemed to snap something in Tseebo.

"Tseebo's productivity is 19% higher. An increase in food would help bring it to 35%." Tseebo's thin form growled from hunger.

"Tseebo went to work for the imperial data office after the empire took my parents." Ezra glared at Tseebo.

Zaria pulled a fruit from her bag. Offered it to the Rodian.

"No wonder the Imperialis want him back so much. He's a walking hard drive of imperial secrets. And don't be so hard on him Ezra. We all have to survive. Not everyone has the strength or the power to stand up to the empire. Perhaps he is standing up the only way he knows how. And that is worthy of respect." Zaria watched Tseebo nibble on the fruit.

"Your parents? You never told us." Kanan knelt down next to Ezra.

"What's to tell? They've been gone for eight years. I've been on my own since I was seven." Ezra turned away from them.

"Seven imperial." Tseebo continued in huttese.

"What's he saying?" Kanan rubbed the back of his head.

"He's detailing imperial fighter deployments on Lothal." Sabine translated.

"We have to keep Tseebo out of the empire's hands. Sabine can you access the information?" Kanan looked at Sabine.

"Uh? I think, so I'll need a few minutes." Sabine fiddled around with Tseebo's implant.

"Ezra are you okay?" Kanan asked his Padawan.

"I'm fine." Ezra draws away from Kanan to climb down the hole.

"I'm told you, you have to let your guard down sometimes." Kanan tells him.

"I said I'm fine." Ezra dropped to the floor.

Zaria jumped in after him.

"Ezra Bridger son of Ephraim and Mira Bridger. Born fifteen years ago, today." Tseebo mutters.

"Oh empire day." Sabine puzzled out.

"It's Ezra's birthday."

Ezra kicked an old toy on the floor of the room.

"Speaking of birthdays, I have your presents." Zaria smiled under her head dress.

"Thanks Zaria, but I'm not in the mood right now." Ezra runs his fingers over the old radio.

"Okay." Zaria nodded sensing now was not a good time to push Ezra.

"Later perhaps."

His fingers finding a chip. He pulled it out. The force called out to Ezra.

Zaria reached out to Ezra, he gasped.

"Ezra, come see this." Sabine called down to the two orphans climbing down the latter. "What's all this?" She asks surviving the room and the chip in Ezra's hand.

"My folks used to broadcast down here, speaking out against the empire. It's probably just and speech about justice or something."

Ezra set the chip down and started back up the ladder. Sabine grabbed the chip and followed after. Zaria shook her head.

She climbed up two bars at a time. Sabine typed on her wrist computer. Tseebo's implant beeped and projected a hologram of the data.

"What are we looking at here?" Kanan puts a hand to his chin.

"Everything!" Sabine breathed.

"Imperial specs on the new ties. And then new T-8 distruptors. Schedules, tactics, strategies, half of its encrypted, but it looks like there's a five year plan for Lothal and every other outer rim world."

Tseebo groaned, and the hologram cut off.

He swayed on his feet. Zaria caught him.

"No wonder he's shorting out, all that data would overload anyone." Ezra sounded disgusted with the empire.

Zaria didn't blame him. She hated them.

"We need to smuggle him off Lothal." Kanan decided.

"Smuggle him out of the city first. Which is on high alert and crawling with imps." Zaria tells him.

"Security has been short because of Empire day that's the only reason they haven't caught him yet. But the day is almost done."

Tseebo walked into another wall as if proving Zaria's point in how hard it would be to get Tseebo out of the city.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria decided she liked this Sabine girl as she watched her take out the storm troopers with a battle lust fit for a mandalorian. Kanan smiled and waved at the trooper who exited the transport to see what was going on.

Zaria knocked the man unconscious with one hit. She tore the helmet off him and threw it to Ezra.

"Don't have that one yet." She winked at him.

Ezra caught it.

"You are the best, Zaria."

"I know." Zaria chuckled.

"I will ride behind on my bike."

Ezra dragged Tseebo onto the transport.

Kanan and Sabine closed the door after they climbed in.

Zaria rode her speeder close behind them. Kicking the trooper who woke up in the head before he could com in.

Zaria snickered.

The blockade was cute, Zaria wonder how the officers got anything done on Lothal. Most were complete morons.

She fired the blasters on her speeder. As she swerved in front of the stolen transport. Zaria nimbly dodged the return fire. And broke through the blockade with a smirk.

A second transport was hot on their trail.

The transport rocked with an explosion. Zaria took out her sleek nabuain design blasters and shot the two imperials on the bikes.

Their lifeless bodies hit the ground with a sickening crunch.

Zaria bared her sharp teeth under her head wrap. Pleased with herself.

The second Transport rammed the stolen transport. The ISB agent jumping onto the rebel transport. The ghost dropped out of the sky ramp extended.

The Lasat shot his rifle at the agent.

Zaria admired the pilot who was excellent enough to fly so low to the ground.

Zaria could feel her blood pump with the excitement. Perhaps there was something to this rebel business. Zaria was going to like this group. Zaria weaved around the transports. Getting behind the second transport, with her shooting it from the back and the ship's guns shooting at the front. The transport was taken out quickly.

Zaria sped back in front of the rebel transport.

The agent was knocked off the transport with blaster fire from the Lasat.

Zaria could still sense him though. So, the was probably holding onto the back. Kanan climbed on top of the transport. Then, force pushed Tseebo up. Ezra and Sabine followed after. The ship dropped down close enough to scoop up the rebels. Zaria sighed sadly and jumped off her speeder onto the transport.

She watched as her speeder crashed. She turned around. Her force enhanced reflexes helping her dodge the shots fired from the agent. His eyes narrowed in recognition at her.

Zaria snarled at him and force gripped his blaster to shoot his next shot into the grass off to the side of the road. Kanan's eyes widened in surprise. Zaria flipped onto the ramp and pulled Kanan up. The ship pulled up. The ramp closed.

"Hera, needs you on guns Kanan." The Lasat tells the Jedi. Kanan looked at Zaria. He shook his head, he would have to deal with her later.

He made his ways to the guns.

Zaria made her way to Ezra's side.

The ship was taking shots, the flying eradicate from the pilot having to fly to avoid being hit. Ezra stumbled.

"I have to go man the nose Guns." Sabine looks at Ezra. Another shot rocked the ship. Ezra fell into Tseebo.

The Lasat growled.

"Is that scrapheap Chopper even paying attention?"

He climbed out of the galley.

Tseebo groaned.

"Ezra? Ezra Bridger is that you?" Sounding for the first time since Zaria met him like a normal being.

"It is you!" Tseebo looked like he would cry.

He came towards Ezra.

Ezra backed away.

"Yeah Tseebo it's me, but now is not the best time for a reunion."

Sabine paused at the door.

Tseebo spoke rapidly in huttese

"What's he saying?" Ezra asks.

"He says he knows what happened to you parents." Zaria translated before Sabine could. Zaria knew how much this would conflict Ezra. On one hand, Ezra wanted to know what happened to his parents but on the other knowing would finally make it real. Make it sink in that his parents are never coming back. Zaria felt the same way. But Zaria had felt through the force when her parents were killed. No doubt Ezra had too.

"Sabine! I need you on the nose Guns now!" Hera's voice crackled over the ship's com. Sabine hesitated.

"Didn't you hear Hera?" Ezra looks at the frozen Sabine.

"Didn't you hear Tseebo? He said he knows what happened to your parents." Sabine gestured to Tseebo.

"I already know what happened to my parents! They're dead, now go shoot down the TIEs." Ezra snarled.

The ship rumbled.

Sabine nodded as she ran to the nose guns.

Ezra shook Tseebo.

"Are they? Are my parents dead?"

 **This is a line break.**

"Does anyone want to explain why we are so popular tonight and why we have two extra passengers?" Hera demands of Kanan.

"The Rodian has Empirical data that is damaging to the empire." Kanan explained.

"Okay I can see why that's important, but the force sensitive girl?" Hera looks hard at Kanan.

"The girl is a friend of Ezra's. There wasn't time, Ezra says she can be trusted." Kanan says.

"Do you trust her?" Hera asks.

Kanan sighed.

"Nothing she's done makes me think she is not trustworthy. But something about her puts me on edge. I can't put my finger on it." Kanan admits.

"Well we need to get the rodian out of here. We can figure out what to do with her after we have taken care of this." Hera decides.

She flipped you ship to avoid more blaster fire.

 **This is a line break.**

"The Bridgers should hide, they took Mira and Ephraim away." Tseebo whimpered.

"Where?! Where did they take them?" Ezra cries desperately.

"Forgive Tseebo, forgive him." Tseebo sighed tiredly.

"Forgive you?" Ezra asks.

"Tseebo was afraid, Tseebo could not raise Ezra Bridger. Tseebo ran away." Tseebo sobbed.

Zaria grabbed Ezra before he could strike Tseebo.

"Coward! You could have stopped them! Why didn't you stop them?" Ezra shouted struggling against Zaria. Tseebo's implant beeped and Tseebo was lost to it.

"Ezra! Calm down." Zaria whispers.

Ezra's fight drained out of him.

"Ezra! The shields are down. We need you in the cockpit!" Hera orders on the com.

Ezra sighed.

"On my way."

Ezra turned back to Tseebo.

"My parents trusted you, and you failed them. You failed me. I was starving on the streets. How can I forgive you for that?" Ezra ran out of the room.

Zaria shook her head.

"Come here." She took Tseebo gently by the arm and guided him to sit down.

"Ezra does not mean it. He's just hurt and confused."

Tseebo shuttered.

"Ezra Bridger is right." The ship leaned to the left sharply.

"Tseebo, you can fix things right?" Zaria asks an idea forming. She had heard that the ship's astromech was down.

Tseebo nodded.

"Come on, we have a ship to fix." Zaria grinned.

Tseebo perked up at that and muttered happily in huttese.

"Come on, I heard the ship's navigation is down. I bet you can fix it." Zaria leads the chattering Rodian to the cockpit. If not then Zaria could.

Zaria opened the door.

"Fast travel over interstellar distances, hyperspace is optimal." Tseebo bent down to fix the ship pushing Ezra out of the way.

"What is he doing?" Hera the light green twi'lek frowned.

"He's fixing your ship." Zaria shrugged and sat down in a brightly colored chair.

The ship beeped.

Hera stared down in awe.

"I don't believe it, he fixed it." Hera grinned setting up the hyperdrive.

"Get ready!" She yelled.

Then, it them into hyperspace.

Ezra jumped up to catch Tseebo.

"Uhh Hera, this is Tseebo."

"And did Tseebo just signal hyperspace coordinates directly into my ship?" Hera examined Tseebo.

"That would be my guest." Ezra smiled.

"Well, then thank you Tseebo. You just saved all of our lives." Hera thanked the rodian.

"Tseebo was just following orders." He looked at Zaria. Hera did too.

"Hera, this is Zaria. She's my oldest friend." Ezra tells Hera.

"Nice to meet you." Zaria bowed.

Hera nodded.

"Let's get down to the galley. We need to have a meeting."

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria sat next to Ezra. Kanan was waving a hand in front of a non-responsive Tseebo.

Zeb the Lasat glared at Zaria distrustfully.

Sabine was fixing chopper. Hera was observing Zaria.

"So, I do we do with him?" Ezra gestured at Tseebo.

"We have a few ideas." Kanan admits.

"But you are the one who has history with Tseebo. What do you think we should do with him?"

Ezra put on the helmet Zaria had given him.

"Don't know, don't care."

Zaria was amused watching the jedi try to teach Ezra. It was too bad she couldn't have been Ezra's teacher. But Kanan had potential, he just had to stop teaching the old jedi way to Ezra.

"Ezra you will never advanced as a jedi. If you can't be honest at least with yourself." Kanan's words strike wisdom.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Ezra asks stubbornly.

"It means confronting things you have to deal with." Zaria lightly smacks Ezra upside his helmeted head.

"Listen to your master. He seems to be wise."

Ezra shot Zaria a hurt look. Kanan shot her a grateful look.

"You don't get to lecture me. Not after abandoning me for seven months." He got up angrily from the table. Zaria recoiled.

"Not after keeping secrets from me."

"Ezra, there are things I couldn't tell you for your safety. And a lot of things happened on Tatooine." Zaria clenched her fists.

"Does not mean you get to just come back and pretend like you didn't just drop all contact with me! I thought you were dead." Ezra shouted.

"Ezra, I didn't mean to make you feel like I abandoned you. I kept my promise, I came back." Zaria argued.

"I'm sorry if you thought that."

Ezra's voice cracked.

"Whatever." He made his way past Kanan.

"Ezra, Tseebo, and Zaria matter to you. And you care what happens to Tseebo." Kanan pulls off the helmet.

"Why should I? He did nothing to save my parents. She just left without a word." Ezra pointed at the two.

"I left a note and breakfast." Zaria interjected.

Ezra gave her a dirty look.

"What could Tseebo have done against the empire?" Kanan reasoned.

"And besides look at what he's done since. the imperials encourage these implants but they're not mandatory. Not, yet he must have volunteered. He uploaded their secrets then ran." Sabine looked at Tseebo fondly.

"Maybe he's trying to make up for letting you down."

"Brave for him as a non-human to do this. The penalty is death for this. Maybe Tseebo didn't speak out against the empire when he should have. But this kind of data might cripple the empire if it gets into the right hands. People make mistakes Ezra." Zaria stands up.

Tseebo's implant beeped.

He chattered in huttese.

"He says the empire can track the ghost." Sabine looks worried.

"Oh please." Zeb scoffed.

"The imperials can't follow us through hyperspace."

"Imperial XX-23 S-thread tracker was developed by the sienar systems." Tseebo's hologram booted up. Showing the tracker.

"To trace ships through hyperspace to destination."

"Hera, could they have tagged us with that thing?" Kanan frowns.

"We better find out." Hera turns on Chopper. Chopper panics.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down Chopper. You were just offline for a few minutes. We need you to scan the ghost for a tracker." Hera explains.

Chopper makes two grumpy beeps but does what Hera asks.

With everyone back in the cockpit. Chopper displayed where the tracker was on the ship.

"So, ISo, this good news is the tracker is on the hull of the phantom. Not the ghost." Hera says cheerfully.

"How is that good news?" Zeb grumbles.

"It will allow us to detach the phantom and lure the imperials away from the ghost and Tseebo." Kanan explains.

"You want to detach while in hyperspace? People meant it when they said Jedi were crazy." Zaria whistled incredulously.

"That's dangerous!" Sabine exclaimed.

"Not as dangerous as what I plan to do with the ship." Kanan announces.

"Can't wait to hear this." Zeb rolls his eyes.

"I checked our current trajectory if you could modify the hyperspace coordinates to change course." Kanan looked at Hera. She nodded.

"Then, we could pass by the old clone base in the asteroid field."

"You mean the base with the nasties that live in the shadows?" Sabine looked uneasy.

"Wait! What? Why would we want to go down there?" Ezra protested.

"He's right Kanan." Hera agreed.

"Why not just drop the phantom in our trail and let the imperials chase their tracker?"

"Because there's more than a tracker at work here. Back on Lothal I sensed it, the inquisitor is on our trail." Kanan warns.

"The inquisitor is a force sensitive. He wouldn't chase after an empty decoy." Zaria finishes.

Kanan narrows his eyes at her.

"So, you are a force sensitive."

"Yes, I am." Zaria answers.

"What?" Ezra squawked.

"You're force sensitive? When were you planning on telling me?"

Zaria looked at Ezra.

"When I was ready when you were ready. Don't forget I helped you with it when you were a kid. Remember what I told you?"

Ezra folded his arms.

"Always trust my instincts. Zaria, why didn't you train me?"

"Because I'm not meant to train you. He is." Zaria pointed to Kanan.

"The force has other plans. Look, I will explain what I can when we are not being chased by a crazy imperial inquisitor." Zaria promises.

"You had better." Ezra growls.

"As long as Ezra and I are aboard the ghost we jeopardize Tseebo's escape." Kanan says.

"So I gotta leave the ghost and go to this nightmare asteroid a favor to Tseebo?" Ezra mutters.

"As a favor to all of us." Kanan corrects.

"And don't worry I'll be right beside you."

"We will be right beside you." Zaria interrupts.

"You're not coming." Kanan glares.

Zaria laughs harshly.

"Are you serious? Don't be stupid, you're an out of practice jedi. Ezra is just a beginner. You think you can take out a serious trained imperial inquisitor?"

"What and you think you can beat the inquisitor?" Kanan growls.

He is pushed into the wall with the force and held him there. Zaria shoves the others down with the force to stop them from helping him.

Zaria snarls.

"I have been trained to use the force since I was one standard year old. I have never stopped my training for a signal moment. Yes I think I can take this sith pretender on." Zaria released them and pulled out her lightsabers from her bag. Hooking them onto her belt.

"I'm going, try to stop me jedi." She challenged.

Kanan shook his head.

"Fine, you can come."

Everyone eyed Zaria wearily.

The room settled as Zaria sat back down.

"Everyone go get ready." Kanan orders.

Zaria was the first out of the room.

She headed for the phantom.

Ezra's anger and mistrust hurt her.

Hadn't she proved she cared about Ezra? Hadn't she taught him skills he needed to survive? She had trusted him with something no one else knew about her. . . Her face. Ezra was the only one she trusted to show him her bare face. No one else could say the same.

Kanan and Ezra entered the mini ship.

"Strap in, preparing for separation." Kanan ordered.

"Once we are out of hyperspace, we will lead the inquisitor away."

"You sure about this?" Hera's voice sounded worried through the com.

"Positive." Kanan confirmed.

"Just be safe, Ezra watch his back for me.," Hera sighed.

"I will." Ezra promised.

"And Zaria anything happens to either of them. I will put a bolt through your brain." Hera threatens Zaria.

"Understood, but that will not be necessary." Zaria says frostily.

"Ready for separation." Hera's voice is tight with emotions.

"Copy that ghost." Kanan readies the controls.

The countdown began.

The detached put Zaria on edge. She closed her eyes and calmed herself thru the force. Then, Zeb was over.

"I am never doing that again." Zaria groaned.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria sensed the shadow beasts roam throughout the base with her force senses.

Kanan outlined his plan.

"We need to connect with the creatures and pit them against the imperials."

Zaria nodded.

"Not a bad idea Jedi. Not bad, it could work."

"Kanan, I can't, I'm afraid." Ezra sounded pained to admit it.

"I got news for you kid, everyone is afraid. But you admitting it just now makes you brave than most and it's a step forward." Kanan laughed.

"Yeah, into the jaws of a nightmare." Ezra's fear spiked into the force.

"You must name and acknowledge your fear before you can banish it." Zaria quoted her mother. She had been told that many times. Kanan stared at her. How did Zaria know that quote? Kanan focused on their matter at hand.

"I'll get the tracker off the phantom, you go make some new friends." Kanan patted Ezra's arm.

"I'll keep watch for the imperials." Zaria looks at Kanan. He nodded stiffly at her.

"Here we go." Kanan opened the ramp.

and they stepped outside.

Zaria headed for the entrance to the base.

She hid in the dark opening all her senses.

Ezra's fear leaked into Zaria's senses.

She wanted to help him but Ezra had to fail or succeed on his own. If Kanan had faith he could do it. Zaria would too.

She blocked out Ezra's emotion.

Kanan came to Ezra's side.

"You're blocked, let go."

"I can't." Ezra's voice cracked.

"Don't be afraid." Kanan coached his student.

"I'm not afraid of them." Ezra admits.

"Then what?" Kanan demands.

"I don't know." Ezra edges away from his problem.

"Yes you do! Face it Ezra." Kanan calls.

"I'm - I'm- I'm afraid of knowing, I'm afraid of the truth! I'm sorry Tseebo. I'm sorry, I forgive you." Silence stilled at Ezra's words.

The entire atmosphere changed. The growling and snarling creatures calmed.

Zaria smiled.

She jumped over to the two.

"I knew he would be a good teacher for you."

Ezra hugged her.

"I'm sorry Zaria, I'm sorry, sorry for being so angry with you. I missed you and I'm glad you came back."

"I understand Ezra, I should have talked with you before I left, I was thoughtless. I'm glad you found something to be a part of. Can you forgive me?" Zaria stroked Ezra's hair.

"Only if you forgive me." Ezra bargained.

"Deal." Zaria let go of him.

Kanan watched them.

Perhaps he had misread Zaria wrong.

She seemed genuine in her affection for Ezra.

"Okay we need to be ready back to your positions." Kanan ordered.

The trio was much more focused and alert.

Zaria returned to her position.

A ship landed outside.

A troop of Storm troopers and the Pau'an inquisitor stepped off the ramp.

Zaria watched amused as the troopers were attacked by the creatures. The inquisitor was not impressed.

"This was your plan?" He chuckled.

"To lure us here and allow these creatures to do your work for you?" Kanan drew his blue lightsaber.

"How do you think it's working?" Kanan baited the inquisitor and sent a large creature after him.

The inquisitor cut the creature down with a red slash of his own lightsaber.

Kanan gave a flinch at the creature's death.

"Pathetically." The inquisitor drawled advancing towards Kanan.

Kanan attacked.

The inquisitor smirked as he fought with the jedi. Ezra concentrated on the creatures.

The inquisitor was faster than Kanan. Kanan had not used a lightsaber until he had met Ezra. Zaria had been right, he was rusty. Kanan was doing everything he could to stay alive. The inquisitor grinned with a dark glee.

"Your meager training is nothing in the face of true power." He forced pushed Kanan back into a wall. Knocking Kanan's breath away. Zaria sighed, the jedi really was out of shape. She would have to step in.

Ezra's trance broke. He force gripped Kanan's lightsaber to himself and held it in front of Kanan protectively.

"You're not going near him."

The inquisitor looked amused and force grabbed the lightsaber from Ezra's hands.

"Oh I think I will. It's time to end this pathetic Jedi and Padawan. Your devotion to your master is admirable but it will not save you." The Pa'uan grinned as he stalked forward.

"Nothing can."

Zaria fond of dramatic entrances and exits. Dropped down from the rafters. Her gold lightsaber and red shoto lightsaber blocked by the inquisitor's lightsabers.

He stared at Zaria with confusion.

"A second Jedi? No wait, a sith?"

Zaria kicked out at him with the force.

"Nu sua nenx tsis ax jidai. Nu valia qorit j'us tsis viedmain."* Zaria hissed in the sith language. She could see the inquisitor struggle to understand her words. His eyes widened when he translated them.

Zaria gave a roar of a battle cry. And attacked, it was thrilling to have such as a worthy opponent to fight. She fought with relish the Inquisitor frantically defending himself.

Ezra was staring at the fight with shock. It was whole levels above from the fight Kanan and the Inquisitor had.

They moved so fast Ezra couldn't even see them. Zaria was scary with her fierce attacks. Every bit the warrior she claimed to be, but she was overconfident.

Zaria flung the inquisitor like a rag doll around the base using the force.

"I'm disappointed, here I thought you would be a challenge." She taunted.

"And you call yourself sith, pathetic. You are weak!"

Her battle lust pumping through her veins. Battling a real enemy was much more satisfying than fighting against the old temple droids. Zaria kept the inquisitor on the defensive. Zaria was brutal with every measured strike.

But her overconfidence gave the inquisitor an opening. The inquisitor pulled her headdress down over her eyes. He shoved her with the force. Zaria groaned as she hit an old broken ship. Her headdress fluttered to the ground. And Zaria lifted her uncovered head.

The inquisitor and Kanan gaped in shock.

Zaria looked like the pure blooded sith in old republic holocron vids Kanan had been shown in history classes as a youngling.

The inquisitor frowned.

Could she be the child of the Sith pureblood male and female Jedi he and his master had hunted down eight years ago?

Zaria's cheek tendrils quivered in rage.

"You hunted down my parents, Sith pretender. But they protected me by hiding me on Lothal." Zaria answered the inquisitor's silent question.

Her golden eyes burned with hate, her Sith bloodline now clear to be seen.

Zaria bared her sharp teeth at the Pau'an inquisitor. He stepped back showing a hint of fear. The feral image of a furious sith pureblood calling for his blood chilled him. The dark side mixing with her light side causing the air to grow heavy with her force signature. The air was thick with tension, Zaria's aura threatening to overwhelm the other force users.

Zaria began her onslaught again. This time wild but even more brutal than before. The Inquisitor was growing tired.

"Enough!" He knocked Zaria down, threw her at Kanan who was trying to get up. Zaria's head slammed into the wall.

The inquisitor panted.

"The emperor will have much use for for you, girl."

Zaria growled.

"Zaria, is not going anywhere with you!" Ezra yelled in anger.

The inquisitor felt refreshed breathing in it.

"Yes good, unleash your anger." He laughed darkly.

"I will teach you what your master could not."

Ezra glared backing away from the inquisitor.

"You have nothing to teach me."

"The darkness is too strong for you orphans." The inquisitor cast a glance at Zaria with the dark side rolling off her.

Zaria struggled to get control of herself.

"It is swallowing you both up, even now. Your friend does not seem to mind the dark." Ezra's back was now to the ledge descending into darkness.

"No!" Ezra gasped.

Zaria shook her head. Trying to bring her dark side back into balance. Kanan was staring at her like she stepped out of his darkness nightmare.

"Your master will die." The inquisitor was enjoying himself.

"No." Ezra denied.

"Your friends will die, Zaria will fall, and everything you've hoped for will be lost. This is the way story ends for you."

"NO!" Ezra paled.

"Don't listen to him, Ezra. You can choose how the story ends."

Zaria shouted to him.

Ezra glared at the inquisitor. Zaria was right, he wouldn't give up.

The force rumbled as Ezra gave himself to it. A giant shadow creature climbed out of the pit behind him.

"Ezra, no!" Kanan lifted his arm weakly.

How had things gotten out of hand so quickly? The smaller creatures took one look at the thing Ezra had called to him and scattered in fright. The inquisitor frowned. He activated his second blade on his lightsaber. Ezra waved a hand, and the beast screeched and attacked the Pau'an. Ezra's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fainted onto the hard ground.

Zaria and Kanan both scrambled to his side. The beast roared and swiped at the inquisitor. The inquisitor snarled and dropped the blue lightsaber in favor of his so two double sided red lightsaber.

Kanan shook Ezra.

"Ezra? Ezra? Come on answer me!"

Ezra's faint signature fluttered along with his eyes.

"Kanan? Zaria? What happened? I-I feel so cold." He shivered.

"I know, it's okay we're leaving." Kanan picked Ezra up. Ezra's eyes closed again. He felt so tired.

Zaria snagged Kanan's lightsaber laying on the ground. The inquisitor glared as they fled the base. He roared at the beast, his dark aura scarring it off.

With a savage yell he threw his lightsaber at Kanan and Ezra. Zaria used the force to throw it back. Distracted by catching his lightsaber he couldn't stop the trio from closing the Phantom's ramp.

"Man the guns! I need to fly us out of here." Kanan ordered Zaria. She sat down next to Kanan. And shot the ship the inquisitor brought. The inquisitor took in the sight and felt uneasy.

"My master will not be pleased."

 **This is a line break.**

Kanan glared at Zaria.

"Give me one good reason, I shouldn't blast you into space?"

Zaria avoided his eyes.

"Will anything I say be trusted, now you know what I am?"

Kanan was silent.

"I am not your enemy, we both want the same thing." Zaria whispers.

"And what would that be?" Kanan growls.

"We both want Ezra safe. If Ezra wakes up and doesn't want me around anymore. I'll leave." Zaria looks at the sleeping Ezra.

Kanan frowns.

"You really care for him don't you?"

Zaria nodded.

"I am sorry, I lost control. That inquisitor was the one who helped end my mother's life."

"Your mother was a Jedi, I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one." Kanan sighed.

"What was her name?"

"Ymira Numark." Zaria answers.

Kanan looked at her in surprise.

"The famous Jedi healer Ymira Numark? She went MIA in year one of the clone wars. The jedi council thought she died. She was a friend of my master. She's your mother?"

"Yes, she taught me and my father in the jedi arts." Zaria says fondly.

"I miss them."

"Your father, an extinct sith pureblood learned the jedi arts from Ymira?" Kanan thought this was even harder to comprehend.

"My parents loved each other and me deeply. My Father was an honorable warrior." Zaria hugged her knees to her chest. They fell silent.

 **This is a line break.**

The crew congratulated Ezra and Kanan on a job well done. Zaria hung back not wanting for the rest of the crew to see her without head dress.

Kanan called up to her. Kanan didn't know if having a jedi's worst nightmare on the ship would be a good idea. But Zaria cared for Ezra and Ezra trusted her. And for now that was good enough for Kanan.

"Zaria, come down here, we are about to go eat dinner."

"Yeah, don't you have presents to give me?" Ezra teased.

With a deep calming breath Zaria jumped down. To the rest of the crew's credit, there was barely a reaction to her appearance.

"Woah! You look like a goddess of war. You have to let me paint you." Sabine was impressed. Chopper seemed quite taken with her look.

"That's not something you see every day." Zeb commented.

Hera smiled.

"Kanan tells me you're joining our crew." Hera stuck out a hand.

"Welcome aboard."

Zaria shook it.

"Thanks for having me."

"Can I have my presents now?" Ezra wiggled his eyebrows.

Zaria snickered.

"I don't know, they are awesome. Maybe I should keep them." Chopper beeped in agreement.

Ezra lightly punched Zaria's dark red skinned arm.

"Red, isn't the only one who got you something kid." Zeb ruffled Ezra's hair.

"Come on everyone to the galley." Hera herded the group to the room.

The Lothal spice cake from Zaria's bag sat on the table.

"I hope you don't mind I went through your bag." Hera looked at Zaria testing her reaction. Zaria didn't blame her for caution.

"It's fine." Zaria smiled.

"Zaria, you got me Lothal spice cake?" Ezra grinned brightly.

"It's not every day a brat turns fifteen." Zaria chuckled.

Zaria reached into her bag. stuffed in the corner. She pulled out her presents for Ezra.

"This is an ancient vibrodagger, I found in a ruin on Tatooine. It's specially made to withstand lightsabers." Zaria didn't say it was sith made. But it didn't matter, it could be used by Sith or Jedi. Zaria cleansed it of the dark side. Her own pair tucked into her bag.

Kanan seemed to know what it was, but said nothing. Zaria pulled out the japor ivory charm she had carved on a jerba leather cord. Zaria had made it special with the force. It worked as a luck charm to help with focus and meditation.

"I made this to help you with your Jedi training. It will help you focus and meditate until you will not need it anymore."

"Zaria, these are great. Thank you."

Ezra hugged her.

"Don't lose them. You don't know what I went through to get theses presents for you." Zaria grinned.

Zeb shoved a Trooper helmet at him.

"For you weird helmet collection, kid." Then Zeb went back to drooling over the cake.

Sabine gave Ezra the chip from his house.

"I fixed up the image and data for you, you can look at it later."

Ezra's tears gather at his eyes. Embarrassed Ezra wiped them quickly away.

"So this your best birthday ever?" Zaria pinched his cheek playfully.

Ezra slapped her hand away.

"Yeah, yeah it is. Now slice me some of that cake! It's my favorite!"

Zeb cheered.

"I call the second piece."

"Dibs on the third!" Zaria shouted.

"Okay calm down, I will cut the cake." Hera laughed.

 **This is a line break.**

The hologram flickered.

The inquisitor bowed.

"Report." Vader commanded.

"My master, the jedi has a new ally. A sith pureblood." The Inquisitor dared to look up.

"Impossible, the last Sith pureblood committed suicide. There are no more." Vader's deep voice boomed.

"Master, the last Sith pureblood had a daughter with the jedi female he traveled with. I saw her myself when I was following the jedi." The inquisitor informs his master.

"If this is true the emperor must not find out about her. Find her and bring her to me." Vader orders.

"I will succeed, my master." The inquisitor promised.

"See you do, there are others who can take your place." Vader ended his transmission abruptly.

The inquisitor stood.

He would not fail his master.

 **End of chapter 1**

 **Sith translations**

 ***see you soon brother.**

 ***I am not Sith or jedi. I will end you, sith hypocrite. (pretender) couldn't find Pretender in sith dictionary in found online. So I used hypocrite.**

 **By these cool folks I was able to find the sith language.**

 **sith/**

 **. ?title=Sith_language**

 **.**

 **I have it all planned out for this story but my life is hectic right now so I'll update when I can. Plus who's excited for for season 2? I know I am.**

 **Season 2 starts on the twentieth of June!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Star Wars: Clashing Forces**

 **Chapter 2**

 **See chapter 1 for Disclaimer.**

Zaria slipped off the top bunk in Sabine's room. Now, her room as well. Zaria pulled on her boots and headdress. Silent as a shadow crept down to the galley. Hera and Kanan were already up drinking some caf.

Hera startled where Kanan greeted Zaria.

"Good morning Zaria."

Zaria nodded at him.

"I need to go pack up my things and get my Droid."

"You can take the hover bike." Hera offers.

"No, it's okay, I can jog there." Zaria grabbed a brightly colored fruit and bit into it.

"I wanted to let you know where I would be going today."

"Thanks for informing us, com us when you are done." Kanan synced her com to his.

"Might take awhile I have to sort through what I can take and what I have to keep behind." Zaria sighed.

Hera chuckled.

"Never easy."

"I will manage, just have to categorise the right things." Zaria waved a hand goodbye and left the Galley.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria had one hover box full of her clothes, another full of weapons, and a third of her nicknacks, family heirlooms and ancient artifacts she had collected over the years.

"I am most disappointed to leave the temple, master." TZ-34's voice had a depressed lilt to it.

"It has been my home for ten thousand years."

"We can come back and visit some time TZ-34." Zaria was nostalgic herself.

"I think you will get along with Chopper. And you already know Ezra."

TZ-34 passed air through the vents to pass as a sigh.

"I suppose master."

Zaria was sad to lose the rest of her things but she could fit them in her boxes and so she had to leave them behind.

She had the most important things to her, and that was what mattered.

"Master, my sensors are picking up life forms at the entrance to the temple." TZ-34 perked up.

Zaria reached out with her senses.

"It's fine TZ-34, it's only Kanan and Ezra." Zaria and TZ-34 pushed the boxes to the entrance and Zaria sat down to meditate. This should be interesting. Ezra had never seen where she lived.

But what would the old jedi testing grounds make Ezra see? Zaria own first experience in the temple had been intense.

Zaria snickered.

Ezra would succeed, she knew it.

 _'So, sure are you?'_ The withered old voice asks in her head.

 _'I have faith in Ezra and his Jedi Master. They work well together.'_ Zaria answered.

 _'Wild this youngling is.'_ Yoda argued.

 _'You jedi are so rigid, this is why you fell. The stick that cannot bend, breaks.'_ Zaria could feel the old jedi master's sadness.

 _'Right perhaps you are, see if the faith have you in this youngling is right.'_ Yoda curiousness about Ezra peaked.

 _'Yeah, he's just about figured out how to open the entrance. Now, is not the time for one of our interesting debates about the force. I enjoy them though.'_ Zaria thought fondly to the old master.

 _'As do I, not so terrible for a sith you are.'_ Yoda's voice was warm, it hadn't always been that way. The first time they had Yoda had sensed her he had attacked her mentally.

 _'Same to you, Jedi.'_ Zaria grinned as Ezra opened the entrance. Prank time, it was too perfect to pass up. Zaria dampened her force signature and hid by one of the old corpses.

The temple shifted.

Ezra and Kanan entered the temple. Ezra looked around and started at the bodies.

"Argh!" Ezra yelped.

"Kanan what's with all the dead bodies?"

Kanan crossed his arms.

"They are masters waiting for their Padawans. Padawans who must have failed. Hey don't do it Ezra!" Kanan scolded as Ezra tried to touch a skeleton.

Zaria seized her chance. Using the force to echo her voice. She whispered.

 _"_ Ezra. _"_

"Did you hear something?" Ezra shivered.

Kanan frowned and shook his head.

"No."

 _"_ Ezra. _"_ Zaria whispered again in her spooky voice..

Kanan narrowed his eyes at her.

Zaria jumped up and tackled Ezra.

Ezra screamed rather high pitched and loudly.

Zaria howled with laughter.

Ezra blinked and glared at her.

"Zaria?!"

Kanan glared at her.

"Zaria, what are you doing here?" Kanan seemed offended that she had been able to find the temple.

Ezra grumbled under his breath.

"This is your home isn't? The one you never let me see."

Zaria nodded.

Kanan gaped at her.

"Wait, you live here?"

Zaria nodded.

"Yep, found it ages ago. The only place that would mask my force use on Lothal. I trained here then I decided to live here because I was sick of commuting back and forth."

Kanan looked flabbergasted.

"Only you Zaria, would live in a creepy old temple." Ezra rolled his eyes. Kanan then took notice of her three big boxes.

"Packed your things?"

Ezra looked around the entrance hall in wonder.

"Yes, I did. I also have my other speeder bike. I was going to ride back on, but after Ezra passes his test I think I will catch a ride back with you guys." Zaria chuckled.

"You think I'll pass?" Ezra asks in a small voice.

"I know you will. It's hard but you can do it. I almost failed when I first came. But you're older and you have a teacher waiting for you." Zaria ruffled Ezra's hair.

"You will make a great jedi." TZ-34 walked up to them.

"Thanks TZ-34, I have faith I will succeed. Faith you guys will keep me on track." Ezra walked a short distance. Stopping when Zaria and Kanan were not following.

"Aren't you coming?" Ezra asks nervously.

"They cannot, Master Ezra. This journey must be taken alone in order for you to succeed. This is how it has been done for since the start of the jedi order. Some paths you must walk alone." TZ-34 answered Ezra's question. Kanan stared at the old updated temple droid with a far away look. Remembering the Coruscant temple droids.

"But what about you?" Ezra looks at Kanan.

"We will wait here for you to return. With the other masters." Kanan nodded at the skeletons.

Ezra looked panicked.

"You putting life in my hands?"

"You put yours in mine. I am just returning the favor." Kanan sits down on the floor in a meditation position.

Ezra swallowed and walked into the hallway to be tested.

"Good luck." Kanan whispers.

The door closed as Ezra craned his head to look back at Kanan.

"What am I looking for?"

"Nothing and everything." Kanan bends down to look at Ezra through the closing doors.

"That doesn't help." Ezra frowned.

"I know." Kanan gave ghost of a smile.

The door closed.

"But that's what my master told me." Kanan says wistfully.

Zaria put a hand on his shoulder.

Kanan turned to look at her.

"A sith pureblood living in an ancient jedi temple. Life is getting surreal lately."

"My mother was a jedi, so it's not so strange ." Zaria countered.

"How old were you when you first found the temple?" Kanan asked.

"Nine, I felt the force guiding me to the temple. And I saw my fears and conquered them." Zaria sat down.

"What did you see?" Kanan was curious.

"I saw myself out of balance, consumed by my light and my dark sides. My parents being killed over and over in front of my eyes. Darth Vader coming to kill me. The emperor experimenting on me. The ancient Sith purebloods ashamed of me." Zaria answered.

Her words did little to distract Kanan. He paced nervously.

"Don't you trust Ezra? Why are you so worried?" Zaria demands.

"Ezra is a good student."

"I know he is." Kanan sits down suddenly.

"Right." Zaria trained her eyes on him.

"Jedi masters are supposed to be patient. Master Ezra will fine." TZ-34 says huffily.

"Ezra is a great student, a quick learner." Kanan says.

"I'm lucky to have him as my student."

"But I sense worry and doubt from you." Zaria looks at him.

Kanan paced again.

"I'm not worried Ezra can't do it."

"Then, why?" Zaria asks.

"I-I..." Kanan floundered for words.

"I'm worried my teachings will fail him. I have no idea what I am doing. I haven't been a real jedi since order 66. Ezra has none of the core jedi teachings. He's too old."

Zaria frowned.

"The old way of doing things is gone. Ezra's talent would have been wasted in the old jedi order. Ezra needs his emotions. They help him connect to others. There's a reason the Jedi were forgotten so fast after the fall. They locked themselves away in their ivory temple. How could the common people ever connect with the jedi?"

Zaria lectured.

"Ezra needs the basics of the jedi but not all of archaic foolish rules. And so do you. Try something with me." Zaria patted the dusty ground next to her.

Kanan sat down reluctantly next to her.

"Now, acknowledge what you are feeling." Zaria orders.

Kanan shot her a look.

"Just do it, tell me what you are feeling." Zaria snapped her fingers.

Kanan sighed but closed his eyes and then spoke.

"I feel nervous... Fear for Ezra... Disappointment in myself... Fear I can't teach... Shame."

Zaria took a breathe.

"Now, accept theses feelings, they are there. Ignoring them isn't helping and it's not going to make them go away. You know know why you are feeling them. Fear because you think you can't teach Ezra because you didn't finish your training. But haven't you noticed teaching Ezra is teaching you?" Zaria continued.

"My mother was in your situation. She said when she became my teacher it helped her finish her training. As a wise Jedi once said good a bond is if both teacher and student from each other learn."

Kanan looked at Zaria.

"You said something to the Inquisitor when he asked if you were sith."

Zaria repeated the first part of what she said in her father's native language.

"Nu sua nenx tsis ax jidai." *****

"What does it mean?" Kanan asks.

"I am not a sith or a jedi. I am a Sith Je'daii. To be specific." Zaria answered.

"A Sith Je'daii?"

Kanan looked confused and glanced at the door again.

"He's taking a long time."

 _'Patience. Remember you nothing of your own training?'_ Yoda's voice entered Kanan's head.

"Master Yoda? It can't be I'm losing it." Kanan jumped up.

 _'Losing? Lost yes. But what loss, hmm? The question that is.'_ Yoda's voice says wisely.

"Master? How- how can this be?" Kanan asks in wonder.

 _'Be not concerned with how. Know I am here because you are here.'_ Yoda's words lift something from Kanan.

 _'Wise words Zaria has for you. Masters learn from their students.'_

"Thank you master." Kanan knelt on the ground.

 _'Thank me? Nothing I have done. Hmm. See you, I can. Before, I could not. Changed you have been. Much to teach, much to learn. Master? Of this decision, honest you must be.'_ Yoda's old voice is serious.

"I am Ezra's master. He is my Padawan." Kanan states.

 _'A dangerous time this is for your apprentice, for you.'_ Yoda warns.

"I know, I can sense it." Kanan agrees.

"I feel as though his abilities are growing faster than I can teach him."

 _'You sense, or you fear?'_ Yoda asks.

"I lost my way for a long time, but now I can change things." Kanan confesses.

"I will not let him lose his way not like I did. I have been lost for so long, ignoring what I am. This is a chance to help Ezra and I both find our way back to the force."

 _'Hmm. Last chance.'_ Yoda says.

 _'Always with the one chance. You jedi are too rigid with everything as I have debating with you many times before. Master Yoda.'_ Zaria breaks in.

 _'Kanan needs to teach Ezra differently from the traditional Jedi teachers. I know you sense it. Things have changed, Jedi must evolve if they want to survive.'_

 _'Sense this I did. Perhaps right you are.'_ Yoda sighed.

"How do you know Master Yoda?" Kanan asked dumbfounded at Zaria.

"Oh he contacted me, it was a while ago. We have philosophical debates from time to time." Zaria shrugged nonchalant

Kanan gaped.

"Surreal, surreal." He muttered.

 _'Strong faith and feelings for ezra bridger, you have.'_ Yoda directed to Zaria.

 _'I believe in Ezra. He will be a great jedi, I have foreseen it.'_ Zaria tells him.

 _'Not train him yourself? Sense your desire to train him I do.'_ Yoda asks slyly.

 _'Ezra's teacher is Kanan. I accept this. But that doesn't mean I have to stop helping him. Now, quit chatting and go test Ezra. I know you want to.'_ Zaria grumpily walks over to her boxes.

 _'Do that I will.'_ Yoda's presence leaves the room.

Kanan joined her.

"You and Ezra are close, so why didn't you train him? You want to train him."

"I have trained Ezra in little things, even some force things. He didn't realize what they were. I trained him to steal, use stealth, listen for information, calm his emotions and mind. To always trust his instincts, some fighting skills."

Zaria sighed.

"I want - I wanted to train Ezra in the force, I was going to but when I meditated on the matter. I had a vision, I saw Ezra dressed as a jedi knight. I knew then I was not meant to be his master. I have trained with both sides of the force, and my goal is to be in balance with the two sides. I am naturally inclined towards the dark side and the light. Ezra could not learn my teachings, the Dark side would not be good for him."

Kanan looked thoughtful.

"You said you were a Sith Je'daii? Isn't Je'daii the precursor to the jedi order?"

"A Sith pureblood named Miarta Sek formed a second Je'daii order after the Je'daii civil war which lead to the creation of the two modern factions The jedi order and the sith order."

Kanan interrupted her history lecture.

"Wasn't the Sith order around before that? And a sith pureblood in the Je'daii order? I never heard that."

Zaria scowled.

"The original Je'daii order was created by a group of individuals Miarta Sek being one of them. And by Sith order, I mean the sith pretenders who took on the name after the Sith species mostly died out or mixed in with other races. Or fled into the space wilds far, far beyond the outer rim."

Kanan looked thoughtful.

"I never had time to study too deeply into the old Republic Era of history or prevent hyperspace war era before the rise of the Empire. I mostly studied to fight in the clone wars."

"History is written by the Victor and many stories are lost by censorship. I listened to my father's stories and have done extensive research of my own on that era. It has always been a fascinating time period for me." Zaria answered.

"Perhaps I can tell you and Ezra what I know later. But we should go, Ezra has passed his test."

Kanan jumped up.

Zaria could sense Ezra just beyond the door. His aura was calmer, smoothed out and different. The force was strong with him. Ezra was ready to step up his training in the force and so was Kanan.

The door slid open revealing Ezra a serene smile was on his face. He reverently held his right hand to his chest.

Zaria smiled and nodded at him.

"How do you feel?" Kanan asks tentatively.

Ezra brightens.

"I feel differently but I also feel the same. I feel at peace, and it's like everything has calmed."

"I know what you mean." Kanan chuckled.

"I found this, it's like it was meant for me." Ezra lifted and opened his hand to show the two his glowing cobalt blue crystal.

"I don't believe it." Kanan looked at the crystal in wonder.

"You choose your crystal well Ezra." Zaria sensed the crystal had history behind it.

"What is it? Its good right?" Ezra looked apprehensively at the two.

"Ezra that's a Kyber crystal." Kanan exclaimed excitedly.

"Oh Wow." Ezra lifted the crystal up to his face, then rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"What's a Kyber Crystal?"

"A lightsaber crystal." Kanan shook his head in amazement.

"Kyber crystals are difficult to cut to be made into lightsaber crystals. The Kyber crystals were used long ago to increase connection to the force, magnification of healing abilities, empower, and energize its user. This one has another property." TZ-34 spoke up.

Ezra ran over to him excitedly.

"What is it?"

"This crystal can be imbued with your force signature and be specialized to you. It must be attuned to you. But if the force chose this crystal for you then you must be strong in the force. Mistress Zaria has collected many useful things to build lightsabers with. Why her own lightsabers both have crystals imbued with her force signature." TZ-34 proudly stated.

Ezra grinned.

"I can make a lightsaber with this crystal?" Ezra looked at Kanan for confirmation.

Kanan nodded, happy to see his padawan so excited.

They exited the temple pushing Zaria's hover boxes to the smaller transport ship.

"I got to admit this isn't what I thought what we would find at this temple. A lightsaber is a big step Ezra. But I'm glad to see how much this trip has helped you Ezra." Kanan smiled.

They all watched as the temple entrance slide back into place waiting for others to once again discover its secrets.

"It's weird to see a Jedi Temple hiding in plain sight on Lothal." Ezra stares at the temple.

"Shouldn't we use it? Like a base? Or a training area? Its your home Zaria."

Zaria shook her head.

"Its just a place Ezra, I make my home wherever I go. This wasn't my tie to Lothal, Ezra you were my tie to this planet."

"But it feels stranger to just let it sit here." Ezra frowns.

"It is an old temple made to stand the weathering of time, it will be here long after we have gone. The past jedi needed temples, we don't need them." Kanan entered the transport.

"Let's head back to the ghost."

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria unpacked her things in her new shared room. Sabine had been thoughtful enough to rearrange the room while Zaria had been gone. Zaria was given the bottom bunk.

Sabine's eyes had bugged out when she saw the amount of Zaria's clothes and admired her ancient relics.

"Are you going to miss your place here on Lothal?" Sabine leans against the wall.

"No… well maybe all the space. The Temple was so spacious. But this is new and different for me, it's exciting." Zaria admits.

Sabine nodded and held out her hand.

Zaria took it.

"I think we will become good friends, we have to spar sometime." Sabine smiles.

"I'd like the challenge, I usually spar against TZ-34." Zaria accepts.

A knock at the door caused the two girls to turn.

Ezra opened the door.

"Zaria can you come join me and Kanan for meditation today?"

Zaria nods goodbye at Sabine. She didn't bother to put on her headdress, the crew all knew what she looked like and they weren't about to be found by anyone,

"I will see you later, lead the way Ezra." Sabine nods back.

Ezra led her out of the ship and up on top of it.

Kanan sat with his eyes closed.

Zaria sat down to his side, Ezra sat down in front of them both.

"Ezra, I want you to meditate on your lightsaber. Let the force guide you." Kanan opened his eyes. Ezra obeyed without complaint and closed his eyes.

"Zaria, I want to spar with you. You've probably noticed I am out of practice, I think it would help me improve sparring against someone with more experience."

Zaria was touched that Kanan would ask her to spar That he trusted her not to hurt him.

"I would be honored. I have noticed you rely on form III. I use many forms for lightsaber combat. I learned Forms I, II, and III from my mother. I learned Jar'kai, TràKata, and Sokan from my father."

"I also have studied forms I, II, III, and V. I know Jar'kai, and some Vaapad." Kanan looks embarrassed.

"Vaapad? You are of Mace Windu's padawan line? My mother was of Plo Koon's line. But my mother knew a little of Vaapad because she was good friends with Depa Billaba. Mother said they were in the same youngling group together. They were close." Zaria told her words cautiously she didn't want to stir up bad memories for Kanan.

Kanan sighed.

"I knew your mother, she was the healer my master always took me to. She also taught me many things, my master was saddened by news of her disappearance. If Jedis in the old order could have had sisters. Master Depa and Master Ymira would have been."

Zaria hung on his every word.

"What was my mother like? How was she in the Jedi order? I only knew her after she left it."

Kanan had a far away look in his eye.

"She was one of the best healers, studied with Master Vokara Che after she was knighted. Ymira was also a crete caretaker before the war. She was alway good with younglings. It doesn't surprise me she became a mother. But she knew how to fight, she was a sentinel. Ymira was talented in combat arts, and the force. Ymira always sought knowledge, my Master used to say when I asked so many questions. I had been hanging around Ymira too long."

Kanan lost his smile as other memories crept up on him.

Zaria stopped asking Kanan about his past even though she wished to interrogate him for every piece of information he had on her mother. Zaria could see it was painful for Kanan to dwell too long on his time with the jedi.

"Thank you for sharing those memories of my mother with me. I will com TZ-34 to bring us my practice sabers. Then, we can get started."

TZ-34 had brought them Zaria's practice sabers.

Kanan held one in his hand trying it out. Kanan activated the saber and sunk into a defensive position.

Zaria didn't hold back, Kanan would need to train hard to keep up with the Inquisitor. It was perfect Zaria was excellent at defending and attacking. Kanan sported several burns from Zaria's saber.

"You are skilled, your Sokan, and TràKata are seamless. I have a long way to catch." Kanan grunted as he forced pushed Zaria's swing.

Zaria spun out of the way of Kanan's strike.

"You will remember your lost skills, but it will take time. But I think you can do it."

Kanan was finding his way in the spar, he wasn't at Zaria's level but if they kept training. Kanan could regain his skills.

Hera clapped as she came out of the ship to watch Kanan get disarmed and knocked to the ground by Zaria.

"It's amazing to see you both in action."

Kanan groans.

"Yeah, it felt good to use my forms again. Even if I am getting my butt handed to me."

Zaria snickered.

Kanan put on a serious face.

"Zaria, I need you to help me train Ezra and me."

Zaria blinked.

"Train you?"

"Yes, I never finished my training as a Jedi. My Master died before I could and then I had to stop using the force to hide from the Empire." Kanan looked ashamed to admit it.

Zaria nodded slowly.

"I suspected, I have a holocron my parents gave me before they died to help me continue my training on my own. You will only want my mother's files, I doubt my father's lessons would interest you. I will help with Ezra's training, but I don't want to do too much. I am not his master, but I could help with training. In exchange I would like to learn some Jedi teachings from you."

Kanan looked surprised.

"I'm not sure what I can teach you but it's a deal."

Hera looked amused.

"This will be interesting. Kanan, I have dinner ready."

Ezra jumped down from the ship.

"I know what I have to do. I know what my lightsaber will be."

"Just in time then, dinner is ready to be served." Hera ruffled Ezra's hair.

 **This is a line break.**

Ezra sketched his design of his lightsaber on a notepad. Ezra shielded his paper from prying eyes. He looked over at Zaria, and Kanan. The two were meditating.

Ezra hesitantly spoke up.

"Kanan, Zaria, can I see how you put your lightsabers together?"

Kanan's eyes snapped open, Zaria lazily blinked hers open.

Kanan gave Ezra a searching look.

"You know, you can't just copy ours right?"

Ezra cast Kanan an annoyed look.

"I know that, I already have my design I wanted to see how you both put yours together."

Zaria unhooked her lightsabers from her belt and held them up for Ezra to examine.

Her long black with gold accents curved hilt glinted in the light.

"This is my gold lightsaber, I found my lightsaber crystals for when my mother took me to Dantooine's crystal caves when I was six."

Ezra sat down expectantly to hear the story.

"My mother waited at the entrance of the caves. I spent two days in the caves until I found the gold bondar crystal and my rubat focusing crystal. I fought off Kinraths to get back to my mother. Then, my mother sent me to meditate in the Khoonda plains to in vision my design."

Kanan had sat down next to Ezra listening intently.

"I rushed back to our ship and made it, but I nearly blew myself up in my excitement. It took three weeks to make it. I have made changes to it throughout the years, made a longer hilt, switched the emitter matrix." Zaria closed her eyes and let her lightsaber float as she took it apart with the force. She explained each piece to Ezra, let him hold her crystals.

"What about your short one?" Ezra pointed to her shorter hilt red shoto Lightsaber.

Zaria reassembled her gold lightsaber and set it down to pick up her shoto.

"I made this one with my father." Zaria traced it down the side.

"My red crystal is synthetic, I made it with the force and melting down a jewel and a Qixoni crystal."

Ezra gaped at her.

"You can do that? Make your own crystals?"

"Its a Sith practice, it can be dangerous." Kanan says diplomatically.

"It is dangerous, and scalding because you need to use a special furnace. But I made it by myself. My crystal can take a lot of power and even break others lightsabers. But I haven't ever done that yet. My focus is lens is a Kunda stone." Zaria disabled her shoto.

Kanan looked at her red crystal with a guilty curious look.

"You can pick it up."

Zaria reached behind her to grab a box.

Kanan carefully picked up the red crystal to examine it.

"Its... I haven't ever felt one this color without an overwhelming dark side to it." Kanan rolled the crystal around in his fingers.

"Both of my crystals can channel both sides of the force." Zaria answered as she opened her box.

"Theses are parts, crystals, lens, power cells, power insulators, energy cells, matrixies, emitters I have collected over the years." Zaria offered the box to the two.

"Take whatever you need, both of you."

"Thanks Zaria!" Ezra looked through the box, Kanan hung back.

Ezra picked things out, he put things back and closed his eyes. Ezra picked out the Krayt dragon pearl Zaria had found on Tatooine, a power emitter, and two lens crystals.

Ezra set his new parts out on Kanan's desk.

Kanan hesitated before closing his eyes and doing the same as Ezra.

He could sense he needed to recreate his own lightsaber.

He felt his hands searching, and he found the items he wanted.

Kanan opened his eyes, he had picked out a blue teal Adegan crystal, an Opila crystal, a Phond crystal lens, a blade emitter, and a matrix.

They grew quiet as Kanan pulled out his Lightsaber and closed his eyes. Kanan took apart his lightsaber and placed the new parts into it. Ezra watched in awe as Kanan put his lightsaber back together again and turned on the blade,

Kanan opened his eyes to stare at the new blazing blue teal blade. His saber felt different, lighter, powerful. It was the Lightsaber he had meditated about but never got close enough.

But now here it was in its glory.

"How did you make your first lightsaber?" Ezra's voice is soft.

Kanan turned off his blade and sat back down. He was in a talkative mood.

"My name was Caleb Dume back then, I was eight years old. It was a few months before Master Depa choose me as a padawan. I went to the Ilum caves with Master Yoda and my crete mates.

Saisk, Panek, Parla, Nirvana, and Vegus, we were close." Kanan paused lost in his memories.

"IIum is an ice planet, it's frozen over for its entire rotation. We went into the cave and we had to make it out before the cave entrance froze back over. My friends were all called to different paths." Kanan picked up his blue IIum crystal.

"I found it, this crystal called through the force. I was walking in circles in the pitch black of the cave. Then, I saw it shining brilliantly on the ceiling, I designed my lightsaber on the ship back to the Coruscant Jedi Temple. I was the first one finished and the first to be thrown into the Clone Wars." Kanan fell silent and closed his eyes haunted by his memories.

 **This is a line break.**

"He's been working on that thing for half a month now, what kind of lightsaber could he build with junk around the ship?" Zeb complained as they waited for Ezra to come down to show them his lightsaber.

"He's being mysterious about it." Hera says amused.

Zaria chugged down her glass of water. She and Kanan had been whipping Kanan back into shape.

"He wouldn't let me peek at his drawings for it." Sabine chuckled.

"I am excited to see it." Hera looked up at the latter.

"I am too." Kanan smiles.

TZ-34 made a smug sound.

"Don't be so obnoxious TZ-34, just because Ezra let you see it first." Zaria rolled her eyes.

Chopper beeped impatiently and rammed into TZ-34.

Ezra slid down the latter and grinned as he presented his lightsaber to them.

Ezra held it out to Kanan and Zaria.

Zaria cocked her head at it.

Kanan turned it over in his hands.

"Its isn't like any lightsaber I've seen, it's different but then it fits you."

"It seems to have something hidden on the hilt." Zaria stared at the strange hilt.

"Show us the blade."

Ezra expressed how proud was of his new lightsaber by igniting the blade.

The room was cast by the cobalt glow of the saber.

They all stared at it with awe.

Ezra gave Kanan a cheeky smile.

"Should we go have a spar?"

"Do it!" Zaria yelled excited to see what Ezra could do.

 **This is a line break.**

Kanan and Ezra stood facing each other, their lightsabers lit and humming. Zaria watched the upcoming fight with a hungry look. She couldn't help it, violence always made her blood race.

Kanan defended as Ezra attacked.

It was easy to tell who the more experienced fighter was. But Ezra kept Kanan on his toes.

Ezra rolls out of the way of Kanan's swing and deactivated his lightsaber. He aimed his hilt like you would a blaster, And a pulsing energy bolt shot out of the nose of Ezra's hilt.

Zaria howled with laughter at Kanan's flabbergasted reaction.

"I am so teaching Ezra some TràKata forms. That hidden blaster is pure genius!"

Kanan was knocked to the ground,

He laughed as he got up.

"I think Ezra's Lightsaber will pair well with trick, feint saber form. I think Ezra would do well to learn the basics first though."

Zaria nodded in agreement.

"It's one of a kind Ezra. good job Ezra." Kanan bowed to Ezra.

Ezra bowed back.

"Your lightsaber is different Kanan." Hera observes.

"Yeah it used to be a sapphire color now its bluish teal." Sabine adds.

"Zaria had parts, and I updated my saber." Kanan tells them.

"Well, I have had enough of laser swords today. But nice work kid." Zeb smirked.

"I see my letting you look at my weapon inspired you."

Ezra blushed.

"Its not that big of a deal."

"Quit being modest brat." Zaria flung an arm around Ezra.

"Your lightsaber is impressive and you should be proud."

Ezra hugged Zaria.

Zaria stepped back her eyes narrowed at the sun.

"Oh bantha shit!" She raced back into the ship.

"What's her problem?" Zeb pointed at the dust cloud Zaria left behind.

Ezra snickered.

"Zaria is a space drama junkie, she's missing her favorite drama about this girl who has an arranged marriage to her family's business rival's son. But there's this other rich zabrak guy who like her too." Ezra trailed off at the looks he was getting from the rest of the crew. Ezra looked at the ground.

"Zaria used to make me watch them with her when i was younger." Ezra mumbled.

Zeb couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Red watches those stupid melodramatic soaps?"

Kanan and Hera looked amused.

"Didn't see that one coming." Sabine shook her head with good humor.

"Come on let's get back in the ship." Hera orders.

They all headed back in good spirits.

 **End Chapter 2**

 **Author's note: I am writing Chapter 3, so I hope to get it done soon. So, Read and Review. ;)**

 **Thank you to Paint the Wolf, Ichichi05, and xEPICXBULLSEYEX for reviewing my story I appreciate it. Thank you to Atease66, DeathGoddesses, TwilightNinja00, edvis93, xEPICxBULLSEYEx** **for favoriting and following.**

 **Sith Translations:**

 ***I am not Sith or Jedi.**


	3. Chapter 3

**CF Chapter 3**

 **Disclaimer: see chapter one.**

 **So this chapter is mostly back story on Zaria, next chapter is the Lando episode so yeah.**

 _Flashbacks: is Zaria telling the story._

Present

 **Chapter 3**

Zaria held still as Sabine painted a portrait of her on the wall of their shared room.

"Almost done." Sabine dips her brush into a jar with red paint.

Ezra and Zeb hung over Sabine's shoulder trying to glance at the painting.

"This is great, looks just like you Zaria." Ezra called to her.

Sabine pushed Ezra out of her light.

"I can't concentrate with you so close Ezra."

Sabine looks over at Zaria. Zeb tries to hide his interest.

"So what exactly were you doing on that mission for Visago?" Ezra asks Zaria.

Zaria smirks.

"You really want to know?"

Ezra shrugged trying to appear nonchalant.

"Yeah."

"Okay, but no interruptions." Zaria warns halfheartedly. She knew there would be interruptions.

"Or I won't tell you."

"Now, I'm interested." Sabine puts down her brush.

"Go ahead and tell us not like I've got much else to do today." Zeb took a seat on the floor.

"Okay." Zaria began her story.

 **This is a line break.**

 _Zaria stepped onto the dinky ship Visago had provided for the job. A small thin human was the pilot he was shifty and untrusting of her, he didn't like that she wouldn't take off her headdress. He and his Droid prepped the ship for launch. Zaria sat in the co-pilot chair. She wore cool thermal wear fit to wear on Tatooine. Her headdress was of brown cloth today and covered by a hood and a dark brown cloak Her two sleek nabooian blasters hung on her belt. She kept her bag close, she didn't want the weasel pilot to try and steal her things._

 _She had her credits, her extra clothes, extra weapons, her double bladed extendable hilt with her. Other supplies like water and food, her com, fake ID._

 _Zaria just wanted to get this job done._

 _She had to find Xen Cato a smuggler who stole Visago's goods to a third party and ran. Visago had gotten a tip Xen was on Tatooine. Zaria had needed the money so she reluctantly took the job._

 _The pilot sat down in his chair._

 _"We are a go, ship is all set."_

 _The thrusters blasted and lifted the small ship off the ground._

 **This is a, line break.**

 _Zaria was thrown from her seat as the small ship was fired upon._

 _"Who the frak is shooting at us?" She snarled at the shaking pilot. The pilot maneuvered the ship out of the range of the enemy ship._

 _"Someone is trying to contact us." The pilot grunted as he motioned for her to answer._

 _A hologram of a human male flickered to life._

 _"So Visago has made his move at last."_

 _Zaria narrowed her gold eyes at the hologram._

 _"You must be Xen Cato."_

 _Xen laughed._

 _"I am, but you won't be around much longer. I'm insulted Visago would send a mere child to come after me. Shame I have to end a life so young. But I cannot have you bring my head to Visago. So goodbye." The hologram shut off ended the call._

 _The other ship rapid fired on the defenseless ship._

 _"Karablast! The shields are down! I should have never worked with Visago. I should have listen to that little voice in the back of my head. But I did? No!" The pilot ranted irritably._

 _A rumble passed thru the ship._

 _"Engines are hit! We're going down!" The pilot screamed as they fell into Tatooine's atmosphere. The ship was burning up in the impact._

 _"Blast! I can't slow the ship. Brace yourself!"_

 _Zaria grabbed her bag and hooked it to her back. She focused on the force to shield her from the crash. She could see the ship was going to crash far from any of the civilized parts of Tatooine. She was going to have to survive the crash and make it out of the sand dune sea alive._

 _Zaria relaxed her body._

 _She was not going to die._

 _The ship slammed into the sand._

 **This is a line break.**

 _Zaria opened her eyes. The scorching heat was seeping into the cracks of the ship. Zaria pulled herself off of the co-pilot chair._

 _She had saved herself from the crash using the force but the pilot was not so lucky._

 _Blood was splattered on her and everywhere. The pilot's face was crushed in on itself. Organs ruptured, bones snapped, Zaria felt some guilt at not saving him. But she had to act fast, and she didn't want to die, it qas her or him. Zaria choose herself. She looked around the broken and sparking ship. She would salvage anything useful while the two suns were up and leave the ship in the dark and travel as far as she could. Anger rose in her, she was going to kill the selmo Xen Cato._

 _Shoot down her ship, will he? He would regret it. She couldn't wait to sever his head from his body. She pushed debris away to search the ship. Hopefully she could find some parts to make a makeshift speeder bike. She did not want to travel on foot if she didn't have to._

 _Zaria tore the inside of the ship apart. She cheered when she found an ancient outdated model of a hover scooter. She got it working with salvage from the Droid and the ship. A small bag that survived the fire and crash of food bars and water packets._

 _Zaria tied her bag and the second bag onto the scooter. She rested as she waited for sunsets._

 _Zaria forced kicked down the burnt metal to make an opening. The two suns had set but the three moons were not out yet. Zaria was grateful she could see in the dark. She revved the scooter. Zaria closed her eyes._

 _She sensed lifeforms through the force to the east of her. But felt a pulling sensation in the force towards the northeast part of the dune sea._

 _Zaria searched the force, she sensed something old, powerful in the northeast._

 _Zaria opened her eyes._

 _She shrugged her shoulders and rode to the northeast._

 **This is a line break.**

 _Zaria rode the scooter all night, getting closer to the place that was calling to her._

 _Zaria drew close to an old cave._

 _She parked and jumped off her scooter. Zaria grabbed her two light-sabers out of her bag. And placed both bags on her back. She sensed something alive in the cave._

 _Zaria entered the cave._

 _A loud roar shakes the cave._

 _Zaria stiffened under her headdress._

 _A krayt dragon was charging towards her._

 _Zaria grabbed and ignited her light-sabers._

 _The krayt dragon attacked. Zaria force jump up out of the way. She landed on the beast's back and drove her Light-sabers into it. The beast howled in pain and rage. It shook her off. Zaria landed gracefully on the ground slicing the beast's throat. It gave a guttural screech and fell to the ground breathing it's last breaths._

 _Zaria not one to miss opportunity cut the krayt dragon to find the pearl buried in its stomach. She grinned when she found two._

 _Zaria force pulled the dragon to the side unblocking the tunnel which led deeper into the cave. Zaria activated her gold light-saber the dark tunnels were so dark even she had a hard time seeing. Zaria's eyes widened as she came across an ancient door._

 _"A secret temple?" Zaria wondered._

 _She unlocked the door with the force._

 _It gave a loud creak before sliding open._

 _It was ancient, built by neither the Sith pure-bloods nor the Jedi._

 _It was far older than either groups._

 _Zaria tread carefully not wanting to set any old defenses off._

 _She wander around the temple and found a skeleton that force guided to her._

 _It was a human skeleton wearing Sith Empire armor, from the time of Revan. Zaria unhooked the weapons on it. The rusted light-saber was useless. But the sith vibro-sword and sith vibro-daggers with some sharpening could be of use. The weapons burned with the dark-side._

 _Zaria would have to cleanse them later._

 _Zaria sat down and opened a food pact, and a water pack._

 _She chewed her food thoughtfully._

 _She could use the sword and dagger in place of her light-sabers. It would be better to use them to keep her secret._

 **This is a line break.**

"You killed a krayt dragon? And then gave me the pearl to use?" Ezra gaped at her.

"Krayt dragon pearls prices start at a hundred thousand credits at least. And you found two? Why didn't you sell them?"

Zaria looked wryly at Ezra.

"You want me to take yours back?"

Ezra clutched his light-saber to chest and soon his head suddenly.

Sabine looked impressed.

"I can't believe you took down a krayt dragon by yourself."

"So then what happened? Did you find out who built the temple?" Zeb pressed on.

Zaria smiled as she continued her tale.

 **This is a line break.**

 _Zaria ducked behind some fallen rubble as the old security droid shot at her._

 _Who ever made the damned did a fantastic job seeing as the Droid had to be ten thousand years old and was pinning her down. It's movements were strained and it's armor rusted._

 _Zaria pulled out her heavy Sith designed blaster and aimed at the Droid's processor._

 _The Droid offline and fell to the floor with a loud clank._

 _Zaria stepped out from behind the rock._

 _She looked at the door the Droid was guarding. A draft came from it._

 _Zaria was curious, what was down that hallway? She was going to find out._

 _Zaria followed the hallway into a large room. A strange device laid in the middle of the room._

 _Zaria felt a presence._

 _"What a shame, the first company I've gotten in a long time and it's a Sith pure-blood. And here I thought your cursed kind had died out." A woman's voice drawled from behind her._

 _Zaria narrowed her eyes at the shadowed figure._

 _"You are dead." Zaria observes becoming wary. Her father had told her tales of force sensitives who became force ghosts._

 _"Ohh... look an intelligent one." The woman tittered. Then her tone grew more serious._

 _"Yes, I am dead. I lived long ago forced to live on in death. So tell me how is it a Sith pure-blood escaped my attacks? How is it that you monsters are still alive in the galaxy?" The woman glared at Zaria from the shadows. Zaria with a jolt realized who the woman was._

 _"I didn't know Revan was female."_

 _Revan stepped out from the shadows. She glowed with a faint light._

 _"History gets confused. I used to wear gender neutral armor and a mask. I'm not surprised they thought I was a male."_

 _Zaria frowned._

 _"If you are dead, why are you still with the living force? And who build this place?"_

 _Revan rolled her dark brown eyes._

 _"I am what you could call a force ghost. I mostly wander around. But your presence here caught my attention. The ancient race of Rakata built it, nevermind that. I won't ask again how are you of Sith pure-blood ancestry?"_

 _Zaria raised an eyebrow stalk underneath her headdress. Zaria pulled her headdress off._

 _Zaria sat down on the dusty cracked floor._

 _"It is supposed to be a secret but I think I should tell you. Miarta Sek, a sith pure-blood helped form the Je'daii order dedicated to balance between the light and the dark sides of the force."_

 _Revan pursed her lips._

 _"Miarta Sek had a vision of what was to come for the Sith race after the Jedi civil war. And she sought to preserve her people." Zaria closed her eyes. Telling the story she knew by heart, one of the stories her father used to tell her before sleep._

 _"Miarta Sek saw the end of race, caused by our own foolishness, greed, violence, by our emperor. So she gathered like minded Sith pure-bloods of Kissai, Massassi, Zuguruk races. Who vowed to become Je'daii and started a second Je'daii order."_

 _Revan looked surprised._

 _"I knew of Sith pure-bloods who turned from the dark but I never heard of Sith Je'daii." Revan motioned for Zaria to go on._

 _"So while the Je'daii civil war reached far into the galaxy. Miarta Sek and her loyal followers search far into the space wilds beyond the outer rim and settled a planet they named Atsvara. They thrived and learned to use both the light and dark_

 _sides."_

 _Revan laughed when she translated the sith word Atsvara._

 _"They named the planet balance? How interesting, how ironic."_

 _Zaria waited patiently for Revan to stop laughing._

 _"Sometimes the force would guide Sith pure-bloods to the planet. Praven, Lord Scourge, Darth Serevin for example."_

 _"Lord Scourge that bastard!" Revan began to rant about him._

 _Zaria took a nap while she did._

 _Revan shouting at her brought Zaria out of her Lothal cat nap._

 _"Disrespectful brat!" Revan huffed._

 _Zaria resumed._

 _"The Sith species evolved, mixing of races, continued force bloodlines, and use of both sides of the force changed us, so we called ourselves Sith Je'daiis. We no longer fought amongst ourselves. A council of six ruling families governed the planet. My father's family the Saijtoirs were a ruling family descended from Lord Scourge." Zaria grew sad recounting the history her father now no longer around to tell her._

 _"My father Carior, was two hundred years old when he decided to run away from Atsvara. To visit Korriban, Dromund Kaas, and Ziost."_

 _Zaria answered._

 _"He became stranded on Ziost and that's how he met my mother, Ymira."_

 _Revan frowned._

 _"Your mother was a jedi, and your parents have trained you in the ways of the Jedi, Je'daii and sith. How strange."_

 _Zaria was silent, she closed her eyes. Zaria gathered up her sadness, and grief of losing her parents and accepted them, letting go. She would avenge them, she would find a way to take the Empire down._

 _Revan watched the Sith girl meditate._

 _She had come ready to strike the girl down._

 _But now Revan could not, it would be hypocritical of her to judge her. This Zaria had the balance between the light and the dark. That stirred a hint of jealously from Revan. She had never quite been able to balance the two sides of the force. Always leaning towards one side more then the other._

 _"I think I have misjudged you youngling." Revan sat down in front of Zaria._

 _"It has always been easier for me to fight. To have an enemy to fight. After I was frozen by the Sith Emperor, and woke up four hundred years after my love Carth, my son and my dear friends were gone. I had the Sith Empire and the sith pure-bloods to fight. I helped Lord Scourge and his pet jedi, a descendant of mine if you will believe it, take the emperor out. But then I had nothing so I hunted down the crumbling Sith empire. Killed off so many." Revan looked long and hard at Zaria._

 _"I know why I was drawn here to you. You are a descendant of Lord Scourge and my bloodline."_

 _Zaria opened her eyes and gaped at the ancient Sith lord and hero._

 _"I have been lost for a long time, perhaps it's time I let go." Revan smiled._

 _Zaria snapped her mouth shut._

 _"So I am here for you to have some big realization? Am I supposed to help you move on?" Zaria snarked._

 _Revan glared._

 _"Maybe you are."_

 _"How about you tell me what this place is." Zaria suggests._

 _"I do love learning about history."_

 _Revan looked considering at her then nodded._

 **This is a line break.**

"Urgh! History is so boring. You've already told me about the Revan legends like a thousand times already." Ezra complained and was smack on the head by Zeb.

"Shut it, brat."

"I already know a lot of that history because of my Mandalorian background. Can we skip it?" Sabine requests.

Zaria shrugged.

"Sure."

 **This is a line break.**

 _Zaria having been advised by Revan before she left the cool of the cave to conserve her water and to trade a Krayt dragon pearl to the sand people if she came across them. Hopped back onto her scooter and traveled south east._

 _Zaria was glad she had prepared for the Deseret planet with her clothes. Revan had told her the Sand people took offense at bare skin. So Zaria wrapped her headdress tight to keep it from flying off her as she rode on the scooter. Her clothes didn't show any skin, so she was good in that area._

 _The two suns were high in the sky. Noon was the hottest part of the day on Tatooine. Zaria was sweating from the heat burning down on her from the two suns._

 _She was a third of the way to the nearest settlement Anchorhead._

 _A loud whining could be hear from the scooter. The handles shuttered under her grip._

 _"No! Come on, little scooter you can't give out on me now!" Zaria pleaded._

 _The scooter wobbled in the air. Zaria shielded her eyes from the sand that flew up from the scooter crashing into the sand._

 _Zaria growled and opened the engine._

 _The power cells were dead, fried. The cooling system had boiled away it's coolant. Zaria kicked the now useless scooter._

 _"You couldn't have died closer to civilization?!" She began to curse at the scooter._

 _Zaria surveyed the sand that went on for miles. She sighed as she strapped the two bags onto her back and began to walk east._

 **This is a line break.**

 _Zaria trudged on ignored the pain in her legs from walking so long. She ignored her chapped lips and dry mouth. She drank the barest amount of her water. She ignored the heat that sapped away her energy. She ignored the tricks of light reflected off the sand. Zaria could sense the Tuskens raiders stalking her twenty yards behind. It was annoying, but Zaria didn't want to attack first. Force knows she didn't need a tribe of angry sandpeople out for her blood. Zaria froze as she felt two of the raiders were Force sensitives. They must be adopted humans in the tribe._

 _Zaria was quick to draw her new Sith sword and one of the daggers. To block a strike from a humming green light-saber._

 _Zaria felt pride that her people's weapons were able to block light-sabers._

 _Her attacker was a older human male dressed in traditional Tusken Raider clothes. Not a single inch of skin was showing._

 _Zaria force pushed the man back._

 _"Attack me again, and I will slaughter every single one of you!" Zaria roared her only warning and let her dark side into her aura. Manipulating the Tusken warriors to be overcome by fear. They cowered on the ground at her feet, all except two._

 _The two force sensitives._

 _The older male stepped forward speaking to her in basic._

 _"What do you want Sith?"_

 _Zaria glared at him through her headdress._

 _"I want to leave this planet. And I am a Sith pure-blood. I believe the people of Ghorfa call me a tiesa tsis." *_

 _The Tuskens on the sand barked in Tusken at the man. Tusken was a very guttural language._

 _The man sighed but nodded._

 _He turned back to Zaria._

 _"The Tribe wishes to honor you by feeding, watering and giving you shelter, tiesa tsis. They fear you will destroy them all if they do not."_

 _Zaria considered._

 _"I will allow them to honor me. My name is Zaria Saijtoir." Zaria remembering what her mother said about ancestry being important to Tuskens added her Parents names._

 _"Daughter of Ymira Numark and Carior Saijtoir." The human male took a sharp intake of breath of recognition at her mother's name._

 _He spoke to the other warriors._

 _Then he spoke to her._

 _"I am Sharad Hett, one of the last surviving Jedi."_

 _Zaria wasn't surprised, the man was train in the force and it wasn't from any Sith pretenders. So it must have been the Jedi order who trained him. The younger one must be his son._

 _Zaria was blindfolded and escorted to their camp on the back of a batha._

 _Zaria was helped down off the animal and was brought before the Chief._

 _The chief wore more decorations than most._

 _The senior Hett was her translator._

 _Mostly the Chief was say it was a long time since a tiesa tsis had come to Tatooine._

 _Zaria decided now would be a good time to gift one of the krayt dragon pearls to the tribe._

 _Zaria reached into her bag. The sand People flinching as she did afraid of a weapon. But gave hoots of awe and delight when they took in the sight of the pearl. Zaria offered the pearl to the chief._

 _That was all she needed to gain the tribe's trust and friendship._

 _She was given two Japor ivory snippets._

 _Hett senior telling her that if she made one of the ivories into a necklace and wore it on Tatooine she would be safe from Sand people. Hett senior still seemed wary of her. But with the Chief's approval. He couldn't do anything. The Chief took one of the snippets and craved it himself and made it into a necklace. Zaria requested to carve the second for her brother._

 _The request was accepted._

 _Zaria was given desert goggles and a mouth piece so she could adhere to the no skin taboo. The mouthpiece open enough to drink and eat but dark so no one could see her mouth._

 _The meager feast was more than enough food for Zaria. There was music and dancing as the eating went on._

 _Zaria got the feeling the Tuskens were on their best behavior lead they threaten to gain her wrath. Zaria didn't mind in this case._

 _Better they fear her, then try to kill her._

 _Zaria finished eating and looked over at the storyteller who had stood up._

 _Hett's son was seated next to her._

 _"The story keeper is going to tell the story of Sky Brothers. I will translate for you." A'Sharad offered to her. A'Sharad was still wearing a unisex mask. Which Zaria took to mean A'Sharad was not considered an adult yet and unmated. Strange to see because how much older he was._

 _Zaria listened to the story about the two suns of Tatooine. How the older brother attempted to kill his younger brother but failed. Now forced to run away from his brother forever lest he be caught and killed._

 _A'Sharad was only a few months younger than herself._

 _Zaria liked the way he translated the story to her._

 **This is a line break.**

 _Zaria was to be housed with the Hett family in their tent. She followed A'Sharad to his family tent. Sharad and his wife K'Sheek were waiting for them. K'Sheek was also human._

 _Sharad motioned for Zaria to sit down._

 _"I do not sense you mean us harm. I knew of your mother. She disappeared around the time I left the jedi order."_

 _Zaria sat, her eyes under the goggles transfixed on Sharad's covered form. These human adoptees were very devout in Tusken beliefs. Unwilling to reveal any of their skin in her presence._

 _She followed their expose and did not remove any of her own coverings._

 _"So a Sith pureblood, I did not think your race still survived." Sharad digs for information._

 _Zaria shrugged not wanting to give much away. She would have to change the subject._

 _"I'm half obviously. So what's an ex-jedi doing out here?"_

 _Sharad answered her question._

 _"I grew tired of war, so I left the order. Then ended up on Tatooine and adopted into this tribe. I made my family here. I am jedi no longer."_

 _Zaria looked at A'Sharad._

 _"Your son is trained in the force? By you? Perhaps we could spar while I am here."_

 _A'Sharad nodded eagerly._

 _"Can I Father?"_

 _"You would have to borrow my Light-saber." Sharad tilted his head thoughtfully._

 _"I'm sure you have your own." He spoke to Zaria._

 _She nodded._

 _"Yes, in the morning. You shall both fight."_

 _Sharad decided._

 _"Then A'Sharad can take his hunt and become a man."_

 **This is a line break.**

"I can't believe you survived those primitive savages." Zeb exclaimed.

"Those Raiders are mindless brutes."

"I spent like three months with them. I won't tell you all the boring parts but yeah. They are pretty much savages. I mean after living with them and learning their culture. Likeable but violent."

"Why did you stay for three months?" Sabine asks.

"I needed the rest and I wanted on their good side so I could get a ride." Zaria shrugged.

Ezra lifted his japor ivory charm up to his face from his neck.

"You are literally giving me fortunes for how am I going to top these for your birthday?"

Zaria laughed.

"I didn't give you those gifts because of how much they are worth. I gave them to you." Zaria launched herself at Ezra.

"Because you are my adorable little Brolin. And there is no price worth that."

Sabine snickered.

"Ack! Zaria stop it you're embarrassing me."

Ezra failed to wriggle out of Zaria's grip.

Zeb shook his head amused.

Zaria pinned Ezra on the ground and sat on him.

"Greoff mree!" Ezra yelled his voice muffled by Zaria's clothes.

Zaria jumped up. Ezra dramatically gasped for air.

"I'm dying, I'm dying." Ezra placed a hand over his eyes. Zaria grinned as she forced tickled Ezra. Ezra screamed with laughter thrashing around on the floor.

"N-no fair!" Ezra pouted at her.

Zaria stuck out her tongue at him, teasing Ezra in the sith language. It would improve his own knowledge of the language. Zaria reasoned.

"Sis kash zo won nuo visa, Brolin. Nu valia dujoz." *

"I n-need re-reinforcements." Ezra giggled.

Zaria laughed like an over the top holo-drama villain.

"Bhahahahahhaha! No one can save you now. Nie wo valia girdeti tu'iea juofa." *

"I suppose we should take mercy on the kid." Sabine kicks out at Zaria. Zaria dodges, her concentration broken freeing Ezra.

Ezra tackled her with a war cry.

Ezra sat on her back.

Zaria laughed.

"I surrender, let's go eat and I will tell you more of my story after dinner."

"I accept your surrender." Ezra bows graciously.

"When did you learn to force tickle?" Ezra asks following Zaria and the rest out of the room.

Zaria looked at the ground.

"My father used to do that to me. He called them tickle attacks. My mother was more subtle she used to play little tricks on me. Like moving my chair just before I would sit down."

Ezra gripped her hand. His force aura trying to comfort her.

Ezra wasn't even aware he was doing it

Zaria pulled him into a hug and ruffled his hair.

Ezra blinked.

"Wait can we go ask that Hett guy and his son for help?"

Zaria curled her lips into a sneer.

"I wouldn't count on it. Hett made it clear he has no interest in being a jedi or leaving his tribe to fight."

Ezra frowned.

"Oh, then what happened next?"

 **This is a line break.**

 _Zaria was in a big dirt circle with Tuskens surrounding the perimeter._

 _Zaria gleefully beat the crap out of A'Sharad using both her light-sabers and the force. But A'Sharad wasn't so bad. He could block decently enough. The tribe watched on as the two sparred._

 _Zaria was getting uncomfortable under all her layers but didn't risk taking off a signal one. Zaria circled A'Sharad eying him for a hole in his defense. He couldn't keep up the pace for much longer. He was still human under those Tusken robes of his._

 _And the heat of the sunset was bearing down on him._

 _Zaria pounced as soon as she saw the slightest hesitation. A'Sharad fell to ground his wind knocked out if him by Zaria's punch to the gut._

 _Zaria helped him back up._

 _"Good fight, you have an interesting fighting style. I think you are ready to go on a hunt." The chief nodded in agreement._

 _The sand People watching them roared in approval._

 _The chief stood up and spoke._

 _A'Sharad translated._

 _"The chief says as a part of my hunt. I have to take you to the outlanders. Then I start my hunt. We leave tomorrow at first light."_

 _Zaria gave her thanks to the chief and the tribe._

 _She walked back with A'Sharad to his family tent._

 _His parents were waiting. Zaria could feel the strong pride they held for their son._

 _"I am to leave on a hunt tomorrow. I take Zaria to the outlanders tomorrow." A'Sharad announces his tone proud._

 _Sharad clapped his son on his shoulder._

 _"You are a great Warrior my son."_

 _His mother hugged him._

 _"You make us happy to have such a son."_

 _K'Sheek turned to Zaria._

 _"Thank you for helping our chief see A'Sharad's strength."_

 _Zaria bowed._

 _"It was no trouble."_

 _"Come let's eat." Sharad waved them all into the eating area of the tent._

 **This is a line break.**

 _The twin suns of Tatooine had not risen as A'Sharad gave Zaria his hand to help her climb up behind him on his Bantha mount._

 _They were not allowed to say goodbye as it would ruin A'Sharad's blood rite ritual._

 _Zaria wrapped her arms around A'Sharad._

 _Zaria squeezed A'Sharad in surprise as the Bantha shot off away from the camp with greater speed than she thought possible._

 _A'Sharad's middle shook with silent laughter._

 _Zaria shook her head._

 _The large enclave was gone from sight as they rode further away._

 _"What do you plan on hunting?" She made conversation._

 _A'Sharad's shoulders lifted._

 _"A krayt dragon, is preferable. But if I can get a sentient being that's the next best thing."_

 _Zaria frowned._

 _"Blood rite is when you torture another living being, right?"_

 _"Correct, the most prestigious prize for a blood rite is killing a krayt dragon as you did. But the next is to find a sentient being."_

 _A'Sharad informed her. Zaria hid her unease in the force. Zaria couldn't say she wouldn't enjoy hurting someone she knew hurt someone she cared about. But to just abduct a strange just to torture them for days then kill them? She didn't like that. But what could she say? A'Sharad didn't have a problem with it. Zaria felt a coldness in the pit of her stomach. She touched her forehead onto A'Sharad's back._

 _Reaching for her Kiffar abilities with touch._

 _Zaria concentrated in the force on A'Sharad. She closed her eyes._

 _Slowly visions came to her._

 _A mask-less long dark haired A'Sharad with orange-yellow eyes glared at her, slashing at her with a red lightsaber. Slashing at two Jedi, a master and an apprentice._

 _Another vision of A'Sharad dressed in a Inquisitor uniform bowing down at the emperor's feet._

 _"Rise Darth Krayt." The old man croaked._

 _Zaria stiffened opening her eyes._

 _"Can't get comfortable? You can snuggle closer." A'Sharad teased._

 _Zaria debated on just killing him now before he became a threat. But Zaria hesitated. He hadn't become Darth Krayt yet. Perhaps he wouldn't. It wasn't right to kill him now when he hadn't done anything yet._

 _But Zaria remembered his words, feeling his eagerness, his excitement to complete his Blood-rite._

 _Zaria made a decision._

 _She closed her eyes and focused on the lifeforms on Tatooine, searching._

 _There! She had it._

 _"A'Sharad try something with me." She requested._

 _"I believe I can teach you something to help you on your hunt."_

 _She felt A'Sharad's interest peak._

 _"What is it?"_

 _Zaria smiled._

 _"Close your eyes."_

 _A'Sharad scoffed._

 _"You want the driver to close his eyes?"_

 _"Your father has trained in the force, correct?" Zaria snarked._

 _A'Sharad nodded._

 _"Yes."_

 _"Then direct your Bantha mount where to go. Then close your eyes." Zaria orders._

 _A'Sharad reluctantly does so._

 _"Now feel through the force the lifeforms on Tatooine. Focus on finding a krayt dragon."_

 _A'Sharad's shoulders and back tense in concentration._

 _Ten minutes later he shouted in joy._

 _"I found one, I sensed one. I know where it is."_

 _Zaria was relieved._

 _A krayt dragon was not sentient._

 _It wouldn't set him on such a dark path._

 _A'Sharad's back straighten._

 _"I know the way and it's far, very far. And it could move on by the time I get there. If I take you to the outskirts of Anchorhead I could lose it."_

 _Zaria wanting keep him on the Krayt dragon offered to be dropped off somewhere closer._

 _"The only thing near by is a moisture farm. But we are forbidden to go there. The elders are afraid we will anger a demon if we mess with that place." A'Sharad tells her._

 _"Or some old hermit but he doesn't have transportation. My father told me to stay away from the hermit as well."_

 _Zaria jumped on the opportunity._

 _"Then just take me as close as you can to it. Then complete your Blood rite."_

 _A'Sharad bobbed his head liking the idea more and more._

 _"Yeah, yeah, good plan."_

 _A'Sharad turned his Bantha to the left and rode at a trot. When they came upon cliffs, A'Sharad halted his mount._

 _"This is as far as I can go. Keep going and you should it twelve miles from these cliffs."_

 _Zaria jumped down force grabbing her bags. "Thank you for the ride. I wish you luck on your Blood-rite." Zaria bowed._

 _A'Sharad lifted a hand in goodbye and rode off._

 _Zaria trekked her way to the farm._

 **This is a line break.**

 _Zaria's sweaty clothes stuck to her in the midday heat. She was close to the main stead of the farm._

 _"I don't want you training him!" An gruff male voice growled._

 _"I don't want him to end up dead, he doesn't need training."_

 _"I would only be training him, to-" the older man's voice was interrupted by the other man's._

 _"I have told you time and time again, no. There only reason I'm even letting you near him is to catch a ride to Anchorhead. And that Beru would make me sleep outside I'd she knew I let you walk."_

 _Zaria was now close enough to see what the men looked like._

 _One was a younger than the other man. Brown sea salt hair and blue eyes._

 _The old man had red hair that was mostly white and wise blue eyes. Zaria quickly removed the Tusken mouth piece and goggles. Her headdress and clothes were not Tusken._

 _"Hello there!" She called out._

 _Startling them both._

 _The sharp blue eyes of the older wan zero in on her. Zaria narrowed her own gold eyes as they met his._

 _She was surprised._

 _How many force trained sensitives were on this planet? Was Tatooine the planet Jedi picked for exile? Did the old Jedi council all close their eyes and pick a planet? Zaria shook her head._

 _She sent waves off no harm meant to the old human._

 _He considered her._

 _The other man looked her over._

 _"What's your business here?" He asked warily._

 _"My ship crashed in the dune sea, and I traveled here." Zaria answered making sure to broadcast her honesty through the force._

 _"I was hoping for a ride to Anchorhead. I can pay. My name is Zaria."_

 _"My name is Owen Lars and this is my farm. You crashed you say?" Owen looked thoughtful._

 _"I do remember a notice being put out about it. But it said there were no_

 _survivors. A bunch of Storm toppers went out to check."_

 _Zaria grinned under her headdress. That would make her job easier if Xen Cato thought she was dead._

 _"I must have missed them, was attacked by Tusken Raiders so I hid out in a cave for a couple of days."_

 _"I'm impressed you could survive out there so long. No payment is necessary, my nephew is already going that way. It would be no trouble." Owen says kindly._

 _Zaria thanked him graciously._

 _"I appreciate it, you are very kind."_

 _"You are welcome, come join us for tea. My wife insists guest are fed and watered." Owen waves Zaria and the old man in._

 _The old man was invited with less than a friendly face._

 _Zaria and the old man were seated in a sitting room._

 _Beru had supplied them with tea and cookies. Telling them her husband had to return to work and that Luke her nephew would be there in an hour._

 _Zaria put out her hand._

 _"Zaria Saijtoir, and who are you another ex-Jedi? That makes you the second one I have met on this planet."_

 _The man cast her a calculating look._

 _"I'm not an imperial, my mother's name was Ymira Numark if it makes you feel better. I'm not here to harm you. I have a job to get done then I'm off back to Lothal." Zaria reassures him. It was her mother's name which convinces him._

 _The man takes her hand._

 _"You have met Sharad Hett then. You may call me Ben Kenobi."_

 _Zaria could remember her mother once telling her something about a Kenobi._

 _Zaria couldn't help her curiosity._

 _"Are you looking for a padawan? The nephew Luke?"_

 _Ben sent her a sharp look._

 _"No, Owen is dead set against me training the boy. The boy has no idea what he is." Ben confides to her after a long silence._

 _"I see." Zaria falls silent._

 _They drink their tea in quiet._

 **This is a line break.**

 _Zaria felt the boy's immensely powerful force signature before he was even ten feet to the building. Then it was gone swallowed up by Ben's. Zaria turned to look at Ben._

 _"You are hiding your own and that boy's presence. Hiding from the empire? Why he is so strong?" Zaria questioned more to herself then Ben._

 _"I can feel why you want to train this kid. Holy force is he something else." Zaria exclaimed._

 _Ben looked tense._

 _"I must ask you to keep what you know out of the Empire's hands."_

 _Zaria eased Ben's worries._

 _"I won't tell the Empire. They are no friend of mine. They killed my mother. And in honor of my mother I would never let more Jedi die by Sith pretenders hands."_

 _Ben regarded her headdress with interest._

 _"I sense you are descended from an old race strong in the force."_

 _Zaria tilted her head in debate._

 _"If you want to see under my mask just ask. I normally do not allow people to, but for you I will make an exception. Only fair for all the secrets I know of you, that you know one of mine."_

 _Zaria removed her headdress._

 _Ben's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Which Zaria got the feeling he didn't get shocked often._

 _"Well I see that the Emperor and Lord Vader truly are sith pretenders compared to you." Ben recovered quickly._

 _"I was young when the Empire came after my family. Someone recognized my mother as a jedi and informed the Empire for the reward."_

 _Ben listened to Zaria confide her story to him._

 _"Mother was pregnant with my younger brother, he was going to be named Tayaz._

 _My father and I were so excited. My family was deeply bonded in the force. Sometimes we didn't even need to talk."_

 _"I was that way with my fellow Jedi." Ben regarded her sadly._

 _"My parents trained me in both sides of the force. And Mother trained my father and I in Jedi arts. I am a good healer, as was my mother. We traveled around the galaxy when we weren't at our home on Korriban._

 _My father and I were exploring a tomb we uncovered."_

 _Zaria shuttered._

 _"Then we felt the unwelcomed presence of Lord Vader and his Inquisitor. They reached my mother first she was mediating and Vader stabbed her through the stomach. We all felt Tayaz die." Zaria's gold eyes were haunted by memories._

 _"Father ordered me to run to our ship and prepare our med packs. I was to pack anything I could grab and prep the ship._

 _I ran faster than I had in my life. I did as my father ordered. Father fought off the two Sith pretenders and carried my sobbing mother in his arms."_

 _Ben looked ashen faced._

 _"I am sorry for your loss. Lord Vader is a true monster."_

 _"I healed my mother as best as I could. She healed the rest on her own. We ran and the two hunted us relentlessly. Finally my parents taught me how to hide everything about myself and left my on Lothal to draw the two away. They didn't know about me."_

 _Zaria felt her emotions flux and she took some deep breaths. Feeling them._

 _"I felt my parents die through our bond. Mother was first she shielded my father. They just left her there. My father was captured the Emperor was very intrigued by him and the fact he traveled with a Jedi. They tortured him for days. Taking samples from him, trying to extract secrets from him. My father did not give in. He bid his time broke out. Destroyed their data files and samples of him. And then he tried to kill the emperor. He was shot out into space and died." Zaria was shaking everywhere._

 _Her grief shining through._

 _Ben took her hand helping calm her through the force._

 _"I am sorry. Your parents were brave and loved you very much."_

 _Zaria choked._

 _"We all loved each other very much. I miss them so much. Mother used to talk about when most of the Jedi died. Does the pain from the broken bonds ever go away?"_

 _Ben looked pained._

 _"It gets easier to manage the pain after a while. Less painful but it will always echo out from the force." Ben looked at Zaria._

 _"I could teach you to meditate on it."_

 _Zaria wiped at her eyes._

 _"_ _Thank you, I would like that."_

 _A sandy blonde haired boy the same age as Ezra entered the room._

 _"_ _Hey Ben-" His voice trailed off looking at Zaria's uncovered face._

 _Zaria quickly covered her face back up._

 _The boy held out his hand._

 _"_ _I'm Luke, I'm sorry I stared. I didn't to be rude."_

 _Zaria took his hand._

 _"_ _My name is Zaria, nice to meet you. I don't usually take off my headdress so I would be thankfully if you would keep my appearance to yourself."_

 _Luke nodded._

 _"_ _Of course, I understand. My uncle told me you need a ride to Anchorhead?"_

 _Zaria nodded._

 _"_ _Do you have any where to stay?" Luke asks._

 _"_ _She is staying with me, until she can arrange transport off Tatooine." Ben answers before Zaria could._

 _"_ _That's good Aunt Beru was worried. She was going to offer you to stay here." Luke laughs._

 _"_ _Your aunt and uncle are good people, you're lucky to have them." Zaria tells Luke._

 _"_ _Yeah, They are the closest things i have to parents." Luke nods._

 _"_ _Well lets get going, I have to get back to helping my uncle."_

 **This is a line break.**

 _Zaria promised to meet the two males back at the Watto trade post in three hours. Zaria needed to buy a speeder bike for her own transport on Tatooine, contact Visago, find out any information she could on Xen Cato._

 _Ben wandered off to do his shopping. Luke was going with his friends to watch a podrace._

 _Zaria entered Watto's trade post._

 _She was greeted by a old Toydarian._

 _"_ _Welcome, to Watto's trade post."_

 _"_ _I need a speeder bike, one that won't overheat, and can travel long distances. I have three thousand, five hundred credits. I prefer to only spend a thousand and five hundred. Cheat me and you will regret it." Zaria wanted this over quickly._

 _Watto nodded._

 _"_ _I like a customer who knows what they want. Okay let me show you what I have." Watto lead her to an outside lot of vehicles._

 _Zaria left with a decent priced speeder bike of a thousand and seven hundred credits. Zaria requested Watto hold it for her while she finished shopping and for fifty credits Watto agreed._

 _Zaria bought some more food, extra clothes, a bigger bag, and headed to the bar._

 _The cantina was packed with lowlifes._

 _Zaria marched confidently to the Bar and ordered a drink._

 _She set her eyes on the bartender._

 _"I'm looking to hire a smuggler pilot. I heard his very good. His name is Xen Cato." She asked pleasantly._

 _The human bartender sneered._

 _"I don't know him."_

 _Zaria narrowed her eyes at him. He was lying to her. She waved two finger under the bar trying not to draw attention._

 _"You will tell me everything you know of Xen Cato." She laced her voice with compelling force._

 _The man's eyes glazed over._

 _"He's still on Tatooine, going to start jobs for Jabba soon. Smuggling in spice, he's been hanging around this brothel in Mos Eisley. Total seelmo, never tips."_

 _Zaria smirked under her headdress._

 _"Thank you. And the name of this brothel?"_

 _"The dancing schutta." The man answered staring blankly at the lights on a screen._

 _Zaria rolled her eyes._

 _"How charming." She said dryly._

 _She left the cantina._

 _She picked up her speeder bike and went to meet Ben and Luke._

 _Luke was happily telling Ben all about the pod-race._

 _"Hello, Zaria." Luke's blue eyes widen at her speeder bike._

 _"Wow! Where did you get that? I've never seen a speeder bike that looked like that?"_

 _Zaria shrugged._

 _"The guy I bought from said it was customers made by the previous owner. But it's cooling cables need replace so I got it for a deal."_

 _Luke looked excited and he actually bounced up and down._

 _"I have some cooling cables. I could work on it for you."_

 _Zaria nodded._

 _"If you want to."_

 _Luke and Zaria both tied the speeder to the back of the hover car._

 **This is a line break.**

 _To Owen Lars's displeasure Ben and Zaria had been invited to dinner. Zaria had eaten Beru's delicious home cooked meal with gusto. And had been more than willing to take the leftovers._

 _Luke offered to give Zaria and Ben a ride back. If Zaria let him tinker with her Speeder. Zaria didn't see a reason to refuse free labor._

 _Owen gruffly offered to hire her on as a worker if she needed extra money to buy a ticket to Lothal._

 _Zaria had gratefully taken him up on it._

 _Ben had given her a tour of his hovel. And that was Zaria being nice about it. But who was she to turn her nose up at it. When it was free. Ben asked her to join him in a nightly meditation._

 _He fit into the role of a teacher extremely well._

 _"Did you have many Padawans in the Jedi order?" Zaria wondered._

 _Ben grew stricken his pain echoing into the force._

 _"You don't have to answer if it bring you pain." Zaria says softly._

 _Ben nodded thankfully._

 _"If I may ask? What brought you to Tatooine?" Ben changes the subject._

 _"I'm hunting down a bounty for my sort of boss Visago. Xen Cato, kriffing son of a blaster shot down my ship. But then I followed the force ended up in an ancient cave, killed a krayt dragon, stayed with the sand people, then was drawn here." Zaria sighed._

 _Ben frowned._

 _"The force works in mysterious ways."_

 _Zaria grimaced._

 _"You're telling me."_

 _Ben gave a hearty laugh._

 _"Let's begin with the lesson."_

 _ **This is a line break.**_

 _"So what planets have you visited? Are you the one who surround that crash? What species are you? Why do you have a Tusken craved Japor ivory snippet?" Luke battered her with questions. He was worse than Ezra._

 _Zaria glared at him irritable from the heat and having to keep her headdress on._

 _"I have been to five planets, if I told you I would have to kill you, rude to ask that question, I'm frakking awesome that's why." Zaria answered the questions in a flat bored tone._

 _Luke didn't let Zaria's intimidating demeanor stop him._

 _"How long are you staying?"_

 _"For as long as I want."_

 _"Who was that horned guy you comed?"_

 _"My boss."_

 _"What does 'Skystas zmones' mean?" *_

 _"It means skystas zmones. Force you're worst than Ezra."_

 _"Who's Ezra?"_

 _"My adorable Brolin."*_

 _"What's a brolin?"_

 _"Okay enough!" Zaria groaned._

 _"No more questions, let's get the work done."_

 _Luke pouted._

 _"Why do you have to be so mysterious? How long are you?"_

 _Zaria snickered silently at him._

 _"Older then you."_

 **This is a line break.**

 _Zaria locked her bike up and entered the brothel. A sleazy yellow skinned Twi-lek male greeted her._

 _"Salutations, sentient. I assure you we do service females." He flashed his sharp teeth at her._

 _Zaria already hated the guy._

 _"I'm actually interested in one of your patrons."_

 _The Twi-lek grinned with greed in his eyes._

 _"I'm sorry I've forgotten the names, perhaps you could help me remember." He brought up his fingers rubbing them together and made the universal sign for money._

 _Zaria was glad her headdress hid her disgust. She was tempted to ask him if he wanted her to break his fingers but resisted the urge._

 _Instead she laid in his waiting opened hand eight hundred credits. The Twi-lek stuffed the money into his pants. Zaria resisted the urge to kill the seelmo._

 _He smiled at her with an oily smile._

 _"As the owner of the dancing Schutta I am unable to rat out clients."_

 _Zaria growled and grabbed him by the throat lifting him off the ground._

 _The Twi-lek swallowed and said quickly._

 _"But I see no reason why you can't temporarily work here to find the patron yourself."_

 _Zaria snorted and dropped him._

 _"So basically I paid you to hiring me into working for you."_

 _The Twi-lek smirked at her._

 _"You can call me Sato Calder."_

 _Zaria grabbed the Twi-lek by a lekku._

 _"Okay, but if you even think of double crossing me." Zaria let out her dark aura._

 _"I will cut off your head."_

 _Sato looked torn between fear and excitement._

 _"Oh I know a couple of males who like it rough."_

 _Zaria pushed Sato away disgruntled._

 _"I work only three nights a week. And if a human male with black hair and purple eyes comes in. He's mine!"_

 _Sato nodded._

 _"Yes, yes, just don't get blood on the beds. I will make you pay for damages."_

 _He held out his hands with a comlink. Zaria reluctantly synced it with her own._

 _"I will call when it's time for work."_

 _Zaria narrowed her eyes at him._

 _"Remember Sato, betray me and you're dead."_

 _Sato winked at her._

 _"I would never betray such a beautiful female. I always have a sense for the pretty ones."_

 _Zaria left in a foul mood._

 **This is a line break.**

 _Ben stared at her eyebrow raised._

 _"Come again?"_

 _"Oh I'm going to work at a brothel a couple nights a week to find my target. I mostly plan on using force tricks on my customers to think they're having a good time." Zaria pushed herself up completing another push up._

 _Ben looked disapproving._

 _"You are very young for that kind of work."_

 _Zaria pushed herself down._

 _"I'm seventeen, I can handle myself. I can't leave until I complete the contract so I can get paid. This is the fastest way."_

 _Ben took on a mother hen aura._

 _"I don't like it, perhaps there is another way. Have you tried the force?"_

 _Zaria shook her head._

 _"You don't think that wasn't the first thing I tried? Its like something is blocking him from me. Like I have to find him at the right moment. The force is being difficult with me wanting to leave the planet."_

 _Ben stroked his beard thoughtfully._

 _"I am teaching you a few things perhaps you can't leave until I have finished."_

 _Zaria completed five more push ups._

 _"You have helped me master some of my jedi skills my mother was unable to teach me. My father trained me first in sith arts. Then my mother trained me."_

 _Ben sighed._

 _"I must admit you are well balanced in the force. I have never met someone who works so closely with the dark side and still keep their sanity."_

 _Zaria smiled proudly._

 _"I am a Sith Je'daii."_

 _Ben looked at her wryly._

 _"You are indeed."_

 **This is a line break.**

"You worked in a brothel?" Ezra fretted.

Zaria rolled her eyes.

"I knew I should have edited that out."

"It's not a big deal Ezra, lots of females learn the art of seduction. I have." Sabine waves away the concern.

Zeb snickered.

"I can't see it, what did you do? Glare at them?"

"I just force tricked them into thinking I gave them the time of their lives."

Zaria smirked.

Ezra's lower lip jutted out in disapproval.

"Did any of those gross makes hurt you, Sessuo?" * Ezra calling her sister in Sith made Zaria so happy. She pulled him into a hug.

"I'm fine Ezra but thank you for worrying."

"So then what happened?" Zeb urged her on.

 **This is a line break.**

 _Zaria had been working for Sato for three weeks and he was more than delighted at how much money Zaria was bring in._

 _"I have a human client with purple eyes wanting your night." Sato says slyly._

 _"You sure I can't convince you to work for me?"_

 _Zaria gave him a dirty look._

 _"No thanks I'm good. I can take any damages out of my pay."_

 _Sato shook his head sadly thinking of the money he was losing when Zaria would be gone._

 _Zaria changed into a black dancer outfit that showed a lot of skin but kept her headdress on. She sat down on the bed waiting for Xen Cato._

 _She was going to enjoy killing him._

 _She didn't have to wait long._

 _Xen Cato stepped inside the room. Staring at her lustfully._

 _Zaria sneered under her headdress._

 _"Hello master." Zaria purred._

 _Hiding her sith vibro-dagger behind her._

 _Xen stalked over with an arrogance that made her want to stab him violently in the head._

 _"I heard from Sato you are his best girl."_

 _Zaria tilted her head coyly._

 _"I don't like to brag but yes, I am." She says with confidence._

 _"Good I can't stay whiny virgins." Xen stripped off his shirt._

 _His face was handsome but made unattractive by his cocky smirk._

 _Zaria fluttered her eyelashes at him._

 _He leaned down to kiss her but froze._

 _"Those eyes, they are so familiar." He muttered. Then his eyes widened in recognition._

 _"Visago's bounty hunter!" He sprang away. Zaria lunged slicing his leg muscles._

 _Xen Cato ran limping out of the room._

 _Zaria growled as she saw Xen change his face features. So that was why he was so damned hard to find. Xen was a clawdite._

 _But Xen could hide his presence in the force. Zaria chased him out into the night lit streets. She hunted him with relish. Enjoying being able to give in to her violent urges. She played with him before finally cornering him in a closed off alley._

 _Xen blubbered._

 _"Please don't kill me, please. I don't want to die, please."_

 _Zaria stared at him coldly._

 _"Weakling, how pathetic. Where is the callous male who shoot down my ship?"_

 _She advanced._

 _"Where is the male who was stupid enough to think he could get away from stealing from Visago? Where is your bravo now?"_

 _Xen lay at her feet begging for her to spare him. Zaria pounced cutting off his head. The once handsome human face melted into a clawdite's wrinkled features._

 _Zaria stuffed the head in her bag._

 _Her job was done and it was time to go home._

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria edited her story, simply adding an exciting fight at the end. Telling of her goodbyes to the Larrs family. And to the old hermit Ben. She didn't tell them about the glimpse of Luke's future she saw. Ezra didn't mention her omission. Zeb looked satisfied by the story. Sabine looked at her with respect.

Zaria didn't regret killing Xen Cato. He was a horrible being. She had seen what he had done when she picked up his head.

But she didn't want Ezra to see that side of her unless she had no other choice.

Ezra hugged Zaria.

"Thanks sessuo, for telling me the story."

Zaria hugged him back.

She didn't ever want to see Ezra look at her with the taint of fear.

 **End of chapter 3.**

 **Author's note:**

 **Sith translations:**

 *** true sith.**

 *** This is a free for all, Brother. I will win.**

 *** no one will hear your laugh.**

 *** weak human.**

 ***brother**

 **So I recently played the first Knights of the old Republic over again. And I still ship the crap out of Female light side Revan and Carth Onasi. Hence why Revan is a girl in my fic. In canon they decide Revan is a male and hooks up to this awesome lady named Bastila Shan but for the sake of my story ignore it. If you've never heard of Revan, go play knights of the old Republic, or look him up on the wiki or read the books at the library. I wasn't going to go over all of Revan's history in the story. Because it's really long but it is a neat story.**

 **Disregard anything you've about of A'Sharad Hett 'Darth Krayt'.**

 **In my story his father was a human raised Sand person who became a Jedi. Then a year after clone wars His father left to go back to Tatooine and married a human raised sand woman. And had a kid with her. so A'Sharad is pretty much the same age as Zaria.**

 **You also get to see Zaria's darker nature, she is by no means an evil sith lord. But Zaria definitely doesn't hesitate when it comes to killing those she doesn't mind killing and those she deems a threat.**

 **In the case of A'Sharad Zaria was in a delicate position and couldn't afford to piss off Sharad Hett or the tribe. So she chose not to kill A'Sharad after seeing what might become of him.**

 **Thank you to blank for reviews.**

 **And thank you to those who Favorited and followed.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Star wars I just wish I do. I only own Zaria.**

 **Chapter 4**

 **Special thanks to Lledra's fan stuffs on Tumblr. For doing my commission for the new cover image. She has some great Star wars fan art and a fan coming about Ahsoka called Star wars Destines. Her fan blog and comic are on Tumblr. Go check them out they are awesome.**

Zaria snickered. Sparring with Kanan was a great stress reliever. And thankfully he could hold his own most of the time. It was fun for her to beat the Jedi up.

Kanan had started training Ezra in the three first basic forms. Zaria training him in Trà Kata basics to use his blaster handle optimally.

Zaria was making Kanan and Ezra work on hand to hand combat as well. Ezra nicknamed her the task driver. She had been training all her life, with her father, with her mother, by herself. It had always been a comfort and a constant in her life. Zaria enjoyed sharing her routine again.

They all meditated together in the early mornings.

Zaria could get use to this.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria leaned away from Vizago.

"So you won't work for me anymore?" Vizago asks in a disappointed tone.

"I will if the rest of my team does." Zaria answered sternly.

"You were such a good enforcer." Visago shook his head.

"Well then." Visago clapped his hands.

"Come, I will buy you a drink, come on."

Zaria sighed.

"Fine, buy me a drink. I hope you don't plan to get me drunk so you can look under my headdress. Because it won't work. I have a very high tolerance to alcohol."

Visago gave her an innocent look. Zaria knew better.

"I would never." Visago held out his arm for Zaria to take.

Zaria took it. They began walking to the cantina.

An imperial officer stopped them.

"What are you two aliens up to?" The fat one sneered at them.

Zaria kept a grip on Visago, she sent him a warning look.

"Going for a drink." Zaria says calmly pulling out some credits. Handing them to the officer.

"A hard working Officer like yourself deserves a drink after your shift. Please accept one from me. All hail the glorious empire, we are so lucky you are here." Zaria put a false cheer into her voice.

The officer looked happily at the money.

"Yes, yes, enjoy your time." He walked off hiding the money in his pockets.

Visago looked impressed.

"You took care of that nicely."

"Imperials on Lothal are easily bought." Zaria winked at him. Most of the time credits worked better then force influencing them.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria laughed at Cikatro's joke. Visago insisted that since she wasn't on his payroll anymore she call him by his first name.

Cikatro had bought her five drinks. He eyed the sabacc table with interest.

"I wouldn't think it about if I were you." Zaria warns.

"That human is very good, you only end up losing money. And we both know how much you hate to lose money."

Cikatro leaned back in his chair.

"You know me so well, dear." Cikatro frowned at the human.

"And I think that human already cheated me out of some land. You are an angel of the yuta moons."

Zaria slapped him on the shoulder.

"Quite being charming, I'm still not taking off my headdress."

Cikatro acted wounded.

"You always judge me so harshly. Do I need an alternative motive to being nice?"

"Yes." Zaria deadpans.

Cikatro laughed.

"So how is your little pet?"

"Ezra? Fine, he's doing well. I think he likes having a extended family." Zaria sips her drink.

"And do you?" Cikatro asks slyly.

"Yes, I'm very fond of them." Zaria nods.

"I'm going to miss your work. My files will never be as organized without you." Cikatro sighs.

"I'm sure you will get over it." Zaria scoffed.

"Another drink then." Cikatro ordered.

Zeb and Kanan entered the bar.

Kanan gaped at her.

"Zaria? Visago?"

Zaria waved a bit tipsy.

"Hey, Kanan what brings you here?"

"Yeah, Kanan whatcha... doing here?" Cikatro slurred, he was a lot more drunk then Zaria. Cikatro leered at Zaria. Kanan's nostrils flared.

"Visago, you are way too old for Zaria." Kanan stepped in between the two.

Visago looked insulted.

"I'm in my prime, I am not old."

Zaria hugged Kanan.

"You're sweet, but I can beat up Cikatro on my own."

Vizago let out a mutter of protest.

Kanan sighed as Visago fell asleep at the bar. Zaria started to snore her head was limp on his shoulder.

The bartender and owner of the bar, Jho the Ithorian shrugged when Kanan sent him a questioning look.

Kanan shrugged and sighed.

"Come on, Zaria." He put a hand on her slumped covered head. He channeled the force into her, using the simplest force healing he knew. Zaria was so much better at it then he. But from his own experiences with rough hangovers he had figured out how to heal them.

Zaria stirred and blinked up at him.

She ducked her head, Zaria didn't know what possessed her to drink with Vizago but. This would be her only intake of liquor for a while. Zeb had joined the sabacc game in the corner of the bar.

"Right. Like I'd let a Droid tell me how to play Sabacc." Zeb sneered. Chopper banged his helm against the table.

Kanan turned back to Jho.

"Got any jobs, Jho? It doesn't need to be big, I'll take almost anything."

Jho cleaned a mug.

"Sorry Kanan, I got nothing. But go try that off worlder over there. He's playing Zeb in Sabacc. Said he's looking for a crew to help move some cargo. I'll even pay you fifty credits to get him out of my bar. You wouldn't believe the amount of fights this guy has caused. Won every game of Sabacc he's played. I suspect he is cheating but he's a sneaky one." Jho slid a tall mug over to Zaria. The water fuzzed with a pill to help with hangovers. Zaria took it gratefully. She lifted her headdress enough to pour the liquid into her mouth.

"Will you call someone to pick Vizago up?" Zaria cleared her throat. As she opened Vizago's wallet to grab the credits they owed Jho.

He took them with a nod.

Zeb smirked as Zaria and Kanan made their way over to him. Kanan sent Zaria a disapproving look as her normally graceful stride was was thrown off by her stumbling.

"How much did you have to drink?" Kanan folded his arms. His tone reminded Zaria of her mother's scolding tone. Zaria swallowed down the lump that formed in her throat at the thought of her mother.

She mused silently. Maybe scolding younglings was a class taught at before the fall of the jedi.

"I may have got a bit carried away, when Vizago claimed I was a light weight. I can meditate it off later." Zaria waved a hand.

Kanan didn't lighten up on his practised Jedi stare.

"Don't tell me you never wanted to numb yourself after the fall. That you've never used alcohol to pause the pain left behind by broken bonds. I rarely drink after all." Zaria's gold eyes harden.

Kanan sighs, he relents.

"Just be careful, I don't trust Vizago."

Zaria smiled under her headdress.

She sends her thanks to Kanan through the slow forming force bond.

Kanan smiled at her. They had both missed force bonds. And Kanan knew how it felt to deal with the broken force bonds of murdered family. The Jedi had been his family as much as her parents had been hers. Kanan put a hand on her shoulder.

Zaria narrowed her eyes at the dark skinned human playing Zeb. The human was confident and smooth in the force. He had won a lot of money this last week.

Zeb had a very good hand, but Zaria sensed the human was going to win.

She lost interest in the game. She didn't bother warning Zeb. Some Things needed to be learnt the hard way.

"Looks like I'm all out of creds." Zeb rubs the back of his head. He looked ready to do the sensible thing and pull out. Chopper made a mocking beep.

Zeb snarled at the astromech.

"So I'll bet my Droid!" Zeb winced as Chopper zapped him.

'Hera wasn't going to like this.' Zaria was darkly amused.

"Whoa Zeb! You can't just bet Chopper, he's-" Kanan stopped as Zeb shoved his cards into Kanan's face. Kanan whistled at the cards.

"See? Can't lose, you know we need the credits. Besides if I lose, is it really that big of a loss?" Zeb glared down at Chopper.

Chopper banged against Zeb's chair knocking him down.

"I was joking . . . . mostly." Zeb complained rubbing his back.

Kanan grinned.

"Do it."

His years of ignoring his jedi culture ingrained in Kanan willingness to gamble.

It entertained Zaria to see this side of the jedi.

"I'll make sure you both are buried with your weapons after Hera's done with you." Zaria rolled her eyes. Kanan wasn't heeding the warning the force was giving out. She supposed Kanan needed more practice.

"So? You gonna take the bet?" Zeb leaned back into his chair.

"I will take the bet." The man chuckled. Zaria knew that kind of laugh.

It was the laugh of a man who had already won.

Zeb proudly threw his cards down.

"Sabacc! I win." Zeb gleefully started to gather up the numerous credits.

The man held up a hand to stop him.

"Ah, ah, ah, not so fast." His mysterious smile set Zaria on edge. He let his cards flutter down to the table.

"It appears that I have an idiot's array. Which I guess that makes you-" He was cut off from finishing the insult from

Zeb's growl.

"And what does that make you? You selmo!"

Zaria snorted.

"My, my, you are a lucky human. That's what? You're seventh Idiot array this month in Sabacc."

The man merely grinned.

"It's a gift. The name's Calrissian, Lando Calrissian." The man introduced himself with the sharp eyes of a conman.

He stood up and examined Chopper. Zaria quirked an eyebrow stalk.

Kanan and Zeb both paled as it stunk in that Hera was going to be furious with them. Lando turned to Zaria. He bowed with a showy flick at the waist.

He grabbed her dark red hand. He kissed it. Zaria gave a huff of disgust.

"You think you're a real charmer don't you?"

Calrissian sent her a smile that word have had most women's hearts flutter. Zaria's heart didn't skip a beat.

She squeezed his hand, and was reluctantly impressed when he didn't show any pain.

Kanan glared at Calrissian.

"What will it take to get back Chopper?" Zaria tore her hand away.

Calrissian's eyes glittered as he tapped his finger to his chin thoughtfully.

"I did just win the Droid, I haven't seen if I want to keep it or not."

Zeb grimaced.

"Jho said you needed a ship to smuggle something into Lothal." Zaria speaks up.

"That's right I do." Calrissian concedes.

"We have a ship that can make it past the imperial blockage. You need us if you want to succeed, smuggler." Zaria states.

"Smuggler? Why would you think that?" He tries to play innocent. She could feel his surprise through the force.

"You cheated Vizago, the head of the crime on Lothal out of some fuel and land. Of course I, could smooth Vizago's temper. If you give us back Chopper, two thousand credits, and four tanks of fuel." Zaria offers.

Calrissian gaze lingered over the sleeping Vizago. Zaria felt a stab of satisfaction at Calrissian's nod.

"Nine hundred credits, one tank of fuel and I give you back your droid."

Zaria glared.

"Two tanks of fuel, nine hundred credits and Chopper once the job is complete."

Calrissian stroked his chin.

"You do know how to bargain."

Zaria cut him off, his insincere flattery was beginning to irritate her.

"Our ship is the only one who can get you through the blockage alive. Unless you want to take your chances like the last unsuccessful pair of smugglers. Who were publicly executed on the holonet."

Calrissian looked annoyed.

He wasn't used to not calling the shots.

"Very well, we have a deal."

 **This is a line break.**

It served Zeb right as the large Lasat cowered. Chopper with anger trilled shrilly.

"I can explain, don't kill me." Zeb fled past Hera into the ship.

She looked after him with a confused look.

"Explain what?"

"Hera, Sabine, Ezra, this is Lando Calrissian." Kanan began trying to let go his apprehension to the force.

"He's hired us to smuggle some goods into Lothal. Past the imperial blockage."

"Yes, it's strange how such a backwater outer rim planet has such a strong Imperial present." Lando says pointedly. He must have heard the rumors about them. He might suspect what they were. The blockage was there because of them after all. The crew exchanged glances.

"Are you sure you can get this vessel past the Imps?" Lando gestured to the ship they were standing in.

"Captain Hera was it?" He folded his arms behind his back.

"My ship the Ghost, can both mask it's signature and signal." Hera folded her arms across her chest, her head tails twitched with irritation at Lando's doubt.

"We can get you past the Imps. What's the cargo?" Lando waved a hand to Zaria.

"I was told no questions asked."

Hera sent her a look that meant Zaria had some explaining to do.

"That's fine, it just costs more." Hera rubbed her fingers together.

"Zaria and I have already settle on a price, but I assume as captain it needs your approval." Lando looked ready to jump at the chance to renegotiate the price.

"She doesn't." The look on Hera's face said otherwise.

Zaria cut in.

"Nine hundred credits, two tanks of fuel, and we get Chopper back. Zeb and Kanan lost him in a game of Sabacc to this guy." Zaria jerked her thumb at the human.

Zaria pulled Lando off to the side as the green twi'lek began to chew Kanan and Zeb out.

Ezra hopped down from his crate he had been sitting on.

"Hera's upset." He whispered to his sister.

Zaria nodded. Hera's anger and hurt flowed into the force. Ezra had grown in his contention to the force if he could sense it.

"You should know better, Chopper is a member of this crew! You can't bet just bet Chopper! We don't own Chopper, Chopper owns himself!" Hera fumed, her green eyes accusing.

Lando quickly intervened.

"Whoa, we should go, I need to pick up my goods and I don't want to keep my supplier waiting. Besides if all goes well there won't be anything for you good people to fight about." Lando successful calms Hera's tirade.

Kanan was letting his guilt leak into both his force bonds. Two force sensitives shrugged at him unsympathetic.

Zaria had her suspicion as to why Hera reacted so strongly. The beautiful circle tattoos on Hera's lekku, had to have been painful. The head tails on twi'lek were so sensitive to touch. Most Twi'lek didn't get tattoos unless they were criminals, or they had been slaves. Zaria couldn't see Hera as a criminal. Her over emotional outburst at of Chopper being sold, meant it was far more likely she had been a slave.

Hera snarled at Kanan, her rarely seen feral twi'lek side came out. She punch Kanan and stormed out to the start the ship in the cockpit.

Kanan slumped.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria had been sent out of the cockpit as she struggled not to force choke or stabbing the flowery fake smuggler.

'You can't kill him.' Kanan communicated through the force bond.

Kanan fought his own ire at Lando complementing Hera's piloting skills. Zaria slunk out throwing the Smuggler a glower.

She hoped Kanan didn't send the grating Lando out after her.

The man could have even tested jedi

masters of their patience.

She joined Ezra and Zeb in the rec and dining room. She sat down and relaxed as she enjoyed the Lando free zone.

Her mood fell as Chopper brought Lando into the room claiming that it was giving Lando a tour.

"J'us zioplys doroti dabar nu zinot kia akid tave!"* She cursed at Chopper.

Usually she found the Droid's antics amusing but not today.

"Meistras dary malsini tu'saen nudien zudimas kash nustia nuo firma."* TZ-34 reprimands Zaria.

"Gretusa kash sis skystas zmones z'kaina kia mrias iv tu'iea raka?"* TZ-34 cheers her up.

"Fine, right as always TZ-34." Zaria calmed herself. She wouldn't let this human affect her anymore. She hoped the Sith spawned Droid liked servitude as Chopper served Lando a drink. Then again Chopper could have put anything in to it.

"I can't believe that little sycophantic bucket of bolts is actually playing nice to that guy." Zeb shook his head grumbling.

"I can't believe you lost Chopper." Ezra was reclined on his chair, his feet on the table and his hands behind his head.

"Good thing I wasn't there you would have bet me."

Zeb waved dismissively.

"You wouldn't have covered the pot."

"But Chopper did?" Ezra laughed.

Zaria tugged on Zeb's ear. Her eyes dark as she burned holes with her stare.

"Ezra is priceless and you had better hope you never try to bet my Brolin." Zaria let's her unspoken threat hang in the air.

Zeb pales.

Ezra rolled his eyes.

"Stop being so overprotective, I swear between you, Hera, and Kanan. You will come up with something stupid to protect me. Like a force field bubble."

Zaria tilted her head.

"The idea had merit, Ezra." She smiled under her headdress.

Ezra's eyes widened in horror.

"What have I done?"

"She's just kidding kid. . . I think. I was too." Zeb looks at Zaria. She punched him playfully on the shoulder.

"Anyway I think Lando cheated." Zeb continued in a lower tone.

"Really? You just figured that out? Guess the force was trying to send you a message with the idiot array." Zaria snickered. Zeb scowled at Zaria.

"You're just a sore loser, Zeb. Lando seems nice." Ezra ducked Zaria's flick to his head. Zaria pouted. Now that Ezra was training in the force he could dodge much better.

"Remind me to tell Kanan he needs to teach you how to read people through the force." Zaria mutters.

Lando was examining Sabine's art on the wall.

"At least Zaria has some sense." Zeb growls as Lando starts chatting with Sabine who just entered the room.

"Sabine, I understand this is your work." He gestured to the orange symbol of Sabine's Mandalorian clan.

"It reminds me of Janyor's protest paints on Bith."

Sabine's eyes lit up. No one else in the crew had much interest in art like she did. Although Ezra had been sketching in the art book Sabine had given him lately.

"Well, your work is even more stunning in its simplicity."

Ezra's jealousy was feeding the force as he stiffened and fell out of his chair.

"Hey! I told you your art was amazing months ago! Zeb and Zaria did too." He protested.

"Yeah, but you guys didn't know why." Sabine scoffed.

"Oh that's hardly fair." Lando clicked his tongue.

"He's just a child with no experience of the galaxy."

Zaria restrained Ezra.

"I don't suppose you'd like to see more of my art?" Sabine asks uncharacteristically shy.

"I happen to be an impressionistic connoisseur." Lando held out an arm. Zaria shrugged, she couldn't sense any lies from the human. And if Sabine was willing to take one for the team and spend time distracting the smuggler. Zaria was okay with that. Besides it would do Sabine some good to have someone to talk art with.

Zaria was more into fighting, space dramas, and force training and helping Chopper fix the ship.

Lando turned condensing to Ezra.

"That means-"

"I know what it means!" Ezra looked away.

Landa and Sabine left.

As soon as Lando was out of earshot Ezra turned to Zaria and Zeb.

"Hey, what does that mean?"

Zeb snorted.

"A lot less than he thinks it does."

Zaria agreed.

"I don't like that guy." Ezra folded his arms over his chest, his mood darkened.

"Join the club." Zaria pulled Ezra to her and ruffled his hair.

She lifted her headdress so Ezra could see her sharp toothed grin.

 **This is a line break.**

The ghost locked onto the other ship. Zaria, Hera and Kanan followed Lando into the other ship.

"Now just play along to what I say to my Supplier." Lando muttered before the guards reached them.

The three looked at each other uneasily.

"What does that mean?" Kanan hissed grabbing Lando's shoulder.

"I hope you have a backup plan in case anything goes wrong." Hera says sharply.

"No fear Captain, if a comet hits the ship, it has great escape pods." Lando winks at them.

"That's not the exactly the kind of back up plan I had in mind." Hera scowls.

They were lead into a large room.

"Good to see you again Azmorigan." Lando greets.

Zaria recognizing the name. Cikatro had always complained about him trying to move in on Lothal. Thankfully Vizago never had Zaria deal with the little salmon colored monster.

She watched Azmorigan eat with disgust. How did flecks of food reach her all the way over here? She brushed the pulp of fruit from her shoulder.

"I have what you ordered." Azmorigan rasped through his mouthful of food. He wiped drool from his mouth.

"What do you have to offer in return?"

"Her name is Hera!" Lando shoved the shocked twi'lek forward.

Zaria felt her dark side rising with her fury.

"Kait rixik sis zmones dary sis tym valia alga."*

Kanan looked alarmed at the swirl darkness Zaria had summoned in the force.

'Calm down Zaria.' Kanan gripped her shoulder.

'There are too many guards. You are affecting me.' Kanan was struggling to keep his own temper and urge to shoot Lando under control.

He turned back to Lando.

"You can't do this!" He finger his blaster.

"Trust me." Lando whispered.

"Hera!" Kanan pleas.

"A deal is a deal Kanan." Hera says through gritted teeth.

Zaria swayed on her feet and Hera's emotions and feelings hit her.

She gripped Kanan's arm.

Zaria hadn't thought she could form a bond with a non-sensitive. But she had with Hera, with Zeb, with Sabine. Hera's old fears of a slave master. Overwhelmed Zaria leaned on Kanan to keep her feet. Her eyes unseen as she caught glimpses of the past. Hera's past.

A fat imperial officer, a woman caressed and cooed how pretty Hera looked with her new Tattoos. The pain still echoing into the present as Hera's head tails twitched.

Zaria breathed in deeply.

Then it all stopped, Hera had reigned in her emotions and dropped her attitude into a perfected mask of servitude.

Zaria and Kanan both reeled back at the change in the force.

Hera's green eyes glimered dangerously at Calrissian. She bowed to Azmorigan.

His beady little eyes lit up with greed and a different hunger as he took in Hera's beauty. "Her clothes are preposterous for a slave girl. But, the deal is acceptable." Azmorigan went back to eating.

Zaria wanted nothing more than to cleave his fat head from his small body.

Azmorigan shivered when he looked up to find the burning gold eyes of the the figure in the head.

"Go, leave! Collect your end of the deal and get off my ship." He nearly shrieked in terror as Zaria was about to lunge.

Kanan caught her. Her dark aura threatening to crush the fat pink thing. Hera sent them both a warning glance.

The crime lord shuttered.

Hera bowed to Lando.

"Thank you master Calrissian for delivering me to my new master."

Calrissian reaches out to give Hera something. Hera slaps the hand away.

"I must find a way to repay you." She growled.

Azmorigan waved to his guards to take them off his ship.

"A pleasure as always, pleasure doing business with you Azmorigan." Lando called over his shoulder.

Sabine was waiting for them as they reentered the ghost.

"Where's Hera?" She looked at them searchingly.

Kanan snarled and turned on Lando. He grabbed Lando's collar and shoved him up against the wall.

"What the Sith was that!?"

"Where's Hera?" Sabine asked again.

"Tell her about Hera, Lando." Kanan's voice was cold.

"Hera is following the plan, which is what all of you should be doing. If we want to get her back." Lando pushed his cargo into the hallway with his foot.

Zeb opened a door to let Lando through.

"Where Hera?" He looked around.

"What plan is she following?" Kanan glared down at the other man.

"The escape pods, she going to escape with a pod." Zaria leaned against the wall recovering her strength. She paid no attention to Kanan and Lando her attention was on Hera using the force.

Hera wasn't dead at least.

"See? Zaria knows the plan." Lando points to Zaria.

"You're lucky I just don't throw out of the ship for what you pulled." Kanan rubbed his temples with one hand. He drops Lando.

"Hera will be fine. She strikes me as very capable. We are lucky to have her as a captain." Lando pushes his way past Zeb and pushes his cargo into the hull of the ship.

Kanan was incredulous.

"We? There is no we!"

"First you bet Chopper, and now you lost Hera?!" Sabine glared.

Zaria pushed past the two and joined Lando, Zeb and Ezra in the hull.

Ezra hopped down from the hoverbike Zeb was attempting to fix.

"What's in the crate?" Ezra's curiosity overruled his distaste for Lando.

The crate rattled ominously.

Lando's white teeth flashed. He leaned on the crate.

"Very good question Ezra. This is mining equipment, it going to make me rich."

Zaria caught a flash of insight from the force.

"You're going to try to mine for Kyber crystals. And then sell them on the black market."

Lando looked uneasy.

"You have keen senses, Zaria."

Zaria looked away.

The crate made a snorting sound.

"Organic to fool the imperial sensors." Zaria observed the box.

Landa started to climb the ladder up to the upper deck of the ship.

"Don't open it, and keep it calm."

Zaria followed him up.

"Do as he says Ezra, Zeb."

 **This is a line break.**

"See there is the pod as discussed.

You should really have more faith in our captain." Lando ignored Kanan's nostrils flaring.

"I told you she was capable."

Sabine was quick to intervene.

"Come on Lando let's go prep the airlock." Sabine led Lando away.

"Kanan, I . . . . ." Zaria frowns.

"Kanan! Hera is aboard. Azmorigan's ship is right on top of us! Make the jump to lightspeed !" Sabine's voice crackled on the com.

The ship was jolted into Hyperspace.

The crew met Hera. Kanan wrapped his arms around her and whispered to her.

Lando bowed.

"You played that perfectly."

Hera stepped away from Kanan's arms.

"Oh you're welcome!" Hera smiled sharply.

She gripped Lando's shoulder and punched him hard. Hera's normally controlled emotions were a raging storm.

Lando wheezed.

"I deserve that. But can we get back at the job at hand?"

"You're lucky, I have to fly us through the imperial blockage." Hera stomped to her cockpit.

Hera came back off-kilter from Azmorigan's ship. Zaria sat next to her in the copilot chair. Kanan usually sat there but he was out keeping a close eye on Lando.

"Those tattoos when forced on you when you when you were a slave." Zaria says softly.

Hera tensed.

"The force?" She guessed rightly about how Zaria had found out.

Zaria nodded.

"I'm sorry, Hera."

Hera trembled.

"This situation has just shaken me. Brought back old scars. I'll be fine once I sort myself out."

Hera didn't know who she was reassuring.

"Do you wish to talk about it?" Zaria offers.

Hera shook her head.

"Thank you Zaria, but I would rather not at this time."

"I understand." Zaria looked out into the hyperspace route taking them back to Lothal.

"Zaria flip on our second signature." Hera orders. Zaria flipped the switch. The blockage was in front of them.

"Grab that puffer pig!" Lando shouted.

Zaria looked back to see Zeb and Ezra chasing a puffer pig. Zeb jumped in front of the pig.

"Come here piggy!" The pig squealed in fright.

The pig blew up like a blimp.

Zeb bounced on the control panel.

The signature flared then puttered out.

"Sith Spit!" Zaria swore.

"You scared her." Lando's voice was muffled by the pig.

Imperial tie fighters screamed towards them.

"What in the force is going-" Kanan sighed.

"I don't even want to know."

Kanan put a hand to the shaking animal.

He calmed it through the force.

Slowly the pig shrunk back down.

Lando blinked.

"You are very good with animals. I've never seen anyone calm a puffer pig so fast."

Hera called back to Kanan.

"Give the pig to Ezra! I need you and Sabine on Guns. Take out those tie fighters!"

"Got it, let's go Sabine. Ezra it's just like the Loth cats." Kanan gently handed Ezra the pig with a pointed look.

Ezra nodded.

He took the pig and petted it. Ezra made sure to keep the pig sedated with the force.

Ezra smiled down at the pig.

"It's actually really cute."

Zeb laughed from down the hall.

"We are not getting one as a pet."

"Awe, but think out the possibilities! You shout at it and we can bowl over the imperials with it."

Lando sent Ezra a stern look.

"That's is my sophisticated mining equipment. It's not a toy."

"It's a pig." Ezra rolled his eyes. The pig nuzzled it's snout on Ezra's shoulder.

 **This is a line break.**

Lando exited the Ghost in the lead.

"Isn't this Vizago's land?" Ezra cradled the puffer pig. Zaria had caught him cooing at it. "Yes, I won it in a game of Sabacc." Lando waves his hand at the stretch of land.

"Was this game also won by an Idiot's array?" Zaria smirked.

Lando scowled at her.

Kanan cut to the chase.

"We did our job and we're done here. Pay us so we can go."

"Calrissian has other debts to pay." Azmorigan's nasally voice broke the peaceful night air.

Azmorigan waddled out his blaster trained on Lando. His guards popped up, blasters at the ready.

Zaria unsheathed her sith vibro sword.

"Azmorigan?" Lando looked surprised.

"Did you forget who introduced you to Vizago?" The pink fat thing jeered.

"I knew where you were headed."

"But your ship? You couldn't have hidden it anywhere close by? Did you walk here? You don't walk anywhere." Lando was amused looking at Azmorigan's heaving, sweating form.

"Well I do what's necessary to claim my property. You owe me Calrissian!" His bat like ears flapped.

"What do you want?" Hera gripped her blaster.

"My demands are simple! I want my pig back and I want you." Azmorigan beady eyes landed on Hera.

"Plus this ship and it's crew for compensation for my sore feet. But first, first I want to bury Calrissian."

"How about I just kill you quickly instead?" Zaria snarls.

Azmorigan jumps.

"Yeah, yeah, I understand the feeling." Hera says dryly. She threw up an arm in front of Lando.

"But the answer is no."

Kanan stepped up.

"Now wait a sec let's consider that last demand." Kanan enjoyed Lando worried look.

Azmorigan stood there grumbling.

He looked up.

"I've run out of patience! Get them." He ordered his men.

The barge of enemy fire began.

Zaria moved swiftly. She slice off an arm on one of Azmorgian's guards. Cut off the legs of another. Ezra gleefully tested out his dual weapon shooting a blue pulsing energy at a guard.

Kanan shoot his head.

"Got say kid, that weapon is a work of genius. Good job."

Ezra just grinned proudly.

Lando had pulled out his own blaster.

He shot a guard behind Zeb and Sabine.

"Thanks!" The Mandalorian hollered to him. She elbowed another guard brought the handle of her blaster against the head.

"Don't mention it!" The smuggler grinned then he was pushed back behind the crate he and Hera were taking cover behind. The puffer pig squealed and jumped out of Lando's arms. The pig ran towards Sabine and Zeb.

"Scare the pig Zeb!" Hera orders taking aim at a guard.

Zeb was perplexed.

"I'm not that scary am I?"

"Just do it!" Hera yelled.

Zeb shrugged. He roared at the pig. The pig inflated.

With a laugh Sabine kicked the pig into three of the guards.

Zeb stood up suddenly drawing everyone's attention. The huffing pink thing had a blaster dug into Zeb's back. The Lasat held his hands above his head. He looked annoyed. His ears flattened against his head.

"New terms! Hand over Calrissian and this one lives."

"Fine with me." Ezra shrugged

"Deal." Kanan nodded.

"It temping but the answer is still no." Hera's voice brooked no argument.

Ezra and Kanan sighed in disappointment.

Azmorigan growled.

The Ghost's Guns fired up.

Zaria took cover as Chopper shot at Azmorigan.

The blast knocked Zeb and Azmorigan off their feet.

Zeb sprang up, he snatched the blaster off the ground before Azmorigan could reach it. Hera stood over the crime lord who was shuttering pathetically.

"New terms, you walk away now. And I let you live." Hera put her blaster in between Azmorigan's eyes.

"Or test me and find out what happens." Hera concludes darkly.

Azmorigan wavered.

His arms and legs struggled in the air as he tried to get up off the ground to retreat.

He finally managed it and shouted at his men to come carry him.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria stalked over Lando while the crew was taking the three fuel tanks to the Ghost. Her headdress made her look like an avenging assassin. Which suited Zaria fine, she and the scoundrel needed to have a chat about his stunts.

Lando was standing behind some very tall crates. Zaria swiftly jump at the human and gripped him by the neck and slammed him against the crates hard.

Lando looked alarmed.

Good! Zaria thought viciously. He should be after that dangerous deception he pulled on Hera. Zaria was going to make sure the selmo would never try to do it again.

"Listen up Clarissan." Zaria hissed into his ear as she tightened her grip on his neck and lifted him up higher scraping his back painfully against the crates.

Lando shivered in fear as Zaria let a tiny bit of her dark side shine through her eyes. Her darkness in her aura was brimming below the surface. She made sure to project it on Calrissian. The effect was immediate. Lando's pupils had dilated and he was overwhelmed by his fear of Zaria.

"Hera is too nice to make you pay. Kanan is too noble, Ezra is too young, Sabine suspects what you did, but isn't sure. And Zeb is too oblivious to notice." Zaria's voice is pressing down on Lando, the disgust in her voice clear.

"But I know what you did to Hera. And let me make something very clear. Hera is now my family, and usually I rip people's heads off for even thinking about what you did. I, unlike my morality tied down friends will kill and harm those who try to hurt my family."

Lando could feel his fear rising to unnatural heights, his heart was pumping so fast he thought it might give out. His lungs were struggled to breath. Lando could see his life flash before his eyes. Would he die here? Zaria let him go, Lando fell to the ground. He was shaking terribly, and his mind was a mess with terror.

"Luckily for you, I sense you are useful in the future. So I won't kill you." Zaria sneered down at him. It was a shame that the force cried out to her not to kill him. She would chose to heed the warning this time. She was sorely tempted not to, not like she hadn't done so before. Besides the crew would know if she killed him.

"So I will let you off with a warning. If I ever find out about you even pretending or even thinking about putting someone in a situation again where they take the unknown risk of slavery. I will hunt you down." Zaria promises him, she pulled out his wallet pulling out the credits they agreed on. Then like a shadow Zaria sprinted for the ghost's ramp.

Lando nearly cried with relief. He

Lando would never do what he did to Hera to anyone ever again. And perhaps he thought that was the point of Zaria's intimidation tactic. The girl had missed her true calling as a frakking demon. Never before had Lando felt such panic, such fear. And to be fair she had a point and had promised not to kill him. But what had she meant by important to the future?

"That is one female I do not want for an enemy." Lando whispered hoarsely.

Hera marched up to Lando.

"The job is done. I would say it's been a pleasure but it hasn't been." Hera gave Lando a disgusted look. Lando didn't dare look at Zaria.

Lando's grin was strained.

He pulled out more of his credits making sure to add more then what was agreed upon. Hera took it.

The ghost crew loaded up.

Lando watched their backs as they single file went up the ramp of the ghost.

Zaria turned back to him. She pointed two fingers at her inferno eyes and then at Lando.

I'm watching you. She mouthed.

Lando shivered.

 **This is a line break.**

Hera pulled Zaria off to the side after dinner. "I heard what you said to Lando."

Zaria tensed. Was Hera angry at how Zaria had used the dark side? That Zaria had lost her balance?

Hera hugged her.

"Thank you."

Zaria relaxed into the hold.

"I wasn't all right, but knowing you stopped Calrissian from ever attempting that again has made me feel better." Hera let go of Zaria.

"While I don't like your methods. I am grateful you care."

Hera lead Zaria over to the empty table.

"I'm ready to share if you're willing to listen to me."

Zaria pulled off her headdress.

"I'm would be honored."

Hera began to speak.

 **Author's note.**

 **I love Lando I do, but really felt he needed to have a repercussion for what he pulled on Hera. Because let's be honest it was a dick move. And now he has incentive to never do so again. He will be wary of Zaria now. But he gets why she did it, so no true hard feelings.**

 **And we get to see Zaria really show her Sith pureblood roots. And that unlike the rest of the crew she will kill if it is needed.**

 **She is way more lightside than most if the Canon Sith purebloods but she can't always shove that part of her down. But she is by no means going to become a Sith lord anytime soon.**

 **Sith translations**

 *** You stupid droid! Now I have to resist the urge of killing this fool!**

 *** Master, do behave yourself today. Killing clients is bad for business.**

 *** Besides is this pathetic lifeform is**

 **worthy to die by your hand?"**

 *** How dare this human do this! He will pay!**


	5. Chapter 5

**CF Chapter 5**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, only Zaria. Just finished chapter 5, and started chapter 6. I have made some changes to the episode.**

 **Chapter 5**

"Hey Zaria wake up!" Sabine poked her side. Zaria cracked a golden eye open and Force pushed Sabine away from her.

Sabine groaned as she hit the wall.

Zaria snuggled back into her blankets.

"Fine, I guess you don't want to see a secret of Ezra's and mine." Sabine got up brushing dirt of her armor.

Zaria shot out of bed.

"What secret? You guys have a secret?" She quickly pulled on her clothes and headdress in record time. Zaria loved being told secrets. Zaria with eagerness pulled Sabine by the arm out of the room.

Ezra was waiting outside.

"Woah! You got her up." Ezra laughed.

Sabine flicked his ear.

"You didn't tell me she was so hard to wake up."

Zaria tapped a foot testily.

"I thought you guys had something to show me?" She demanded.

"We do, come on." Ezra smiles and leads Zaria out.

Two speeders were waiting for them.

Zaria jumped onto the speeder bike. Ezra climbed on behind her.

Sabine started her own speeder.

Zaria let Sabine lead the way.

The early morning light lit up the grass fields into golden plains.

The Loth cats hunting prey in the fields.

Zaria drank in the sights, they made Lothal a wonderful place to live.

Ezra rested his head on Zaria's back with yawn.

Sabine slowed down as they neared an outcropping of Lothal caves.

"Ohh! I never been to these caves. Think I can find some kyber crystals?" Zaria stopped the bike.

"Why?" Ezra questioned.

"They shine Ezra, and they make great stabilizers in blasters, more precise." Zaria answers.

"Come on. It's this way." Sabine pointed to a tarp.

Zaria eyed the tarp.

Sabine pulled it off with flourish.

"A tie fighter? It's so bright." Zaria blinked.

The tie fighter right half had been painted over with bright greens, yellows, oranges.

There were swirls, squares and stripes.

Ezra and Sabine looked at her.

Zaria pulled off her headdress.

She rolled up her sleeves.

"Can I help paint the other side?" She grinned. Sabine kicked a rock to reveal colored paints beneath.

Zaria grabbed the gold, black and red paint and a brush. Ezra grabbed the orange and yellow.

Sabine grabbed the greens. Zaria found a blank spot on the back of the cockpit.

She painted a picture of a sunset.

Zaria wasn't too horrible. Sabine stood behind Zaria.

"I like how you blended the colors. And the black stands out. It more realistic than most of my pieces. But I like it."

Zaria shrugged.

"I like your stuff more, but I'm not bad when it comes to the scenery."

Ezra leaped from his perch up on the wing.

"What planet is that from?"

Zaria stopped her brush.

"It's. . . . . Korriban."

"Isn't that the Sith planet?" Sabine's fingers traced the air above the wet paint.

"Yes, I lived there with my parents for a while. This how I remember the sunsets on the valley of the Sith Lords. The statues have been worn by time. And the tombs have been picked clean. But it was enchanting at sunrise and sunset." Zaria sounded melancholy.

"Maybe you can go back someday." Ezra tells her softly.

"Maybe I will." Zaria finished the last of her strokes of her paint.

"We've been gone awhile we should get back. I know how you feel I miss Mandalore, and it's moons." Sabine confides to Zaria.

Ezra lifted the tarp with the force and covered the tie.

 **This is a line break**

"Kanan, how is wearing a helmet? When I can't see? A good idea, to learn how to deflect blaster fire?" Ezra looked at Kanan with leeryness.

"Look Ezra, you rely too much on your sight. You need to rely more on your force sense. Zaria has even agreed to give you an example." Kanan waved at Zaria who was jubilant she put on her own helmet.

Ezra slumped.

"Zaria lives for this kind of stuff. Yesterday she wanted Zeb to push her off a cliff so she could practice using the force to slow down her fall. Zaria is intense and maybe a little crazy." Ezra whispers to Kanan his voice lower.

Kanan groaned and dropped his head into his hand.

"Zaria." His voice was vexed.

Zaria seemed to have no problems navigating her way over to the master and padawan with her eyes blind.

"What? That's how my father taught me. He even got my mother to do it. Besides I have way more fun." Zaria wrapped an arm around Ezra and laughed.

Ezra looked at Kanan with fearful wide eyes.

"Kanan, you wouldn't start throwing me off cliffs would you?"

Kanan rolled his eyes and his posture irked.

"No, Ezra. I will not start throwing you off cliffs."

"My father believed, experience is everything and being prepared for anything and everything." Zaria slung an arm around Ezra.

"I had my mom, my dad, plus the twenty Droids firing at me when I did this exercise. It's so much fun. The force follows through you and you become unstoppable. I can sense every bolt coming my way. I wanted to have more things shooting at you, but Kanan said no."

Ezra paled.

Kanan gave Zaria an exasperated look.

Zaria sauntered to the center of the circle. She drew her lightsabers with flash and hum. The gold and red blades flared to life.

Kanan signals the others to start.

Hera, Sabine, Zeb, Ezra, Kanan and Chopper take aim at the crouched Zaria. She looked feral in her movements.

Kanan fired the first shot. Zaria glided like water away from it. Her body was fluid and always moving. The blaster fire came at Zaria from every direction. Ezra gasped as Zaria avoided every single one. Then she brought up her lightsabers to start deflecting them.

The bolts hissed and sizzled as they hit her sabers. Then were sent back at them. Zaria angling her lightsabers to hit the tiniest targets.

"Can you do that too?" Ezra breathed to Kanan. Kanan aim his blaster at Zaria's head.

"I could in the Clone Wars and with Zaria's help I will be back at that level again." Kanan grinned he pulled out his own blue Lightsaber.

He closed his own eyes stepping into the fray. He directed a bolt with his Saber at Zaria. Zaria and Kanan began catching bolts and hitting them at each other.

Yellow bolts, blue, purple, green, and red.

"Woah!" Ezra looked on at the beautiful display of colors. Now it was no longer training. It was Zaria and Kanan connecting to the force and they kept the blasts between them. Sabine, Hera, Zeb had stopped shooting to look at the two in wonder.

"They're so graceful." Sabine admired.

"Never knew Kanan could do this. I mean I knew he was a Jedi. But I never actually seen it." Zeb leveled his weapon at Zaria.

Hera smiled.

Zaria aimed the blasts upward they fizzed out up in the sky.

She tore off her helmet and bowed.

Kanan was panting but he looked exhilarated.

He turned to Ezra.

He grabbed the helmet from Zaria.

"Okay, now it's your turn. Feel the force guide you. Teach you. Let it follow through you." Kanan slides the helmet down onto Ezra's head.

Ezra nodded.

He could do this.

 **This is a line break.**

He couldn't do this.

Ezra winced under his pitch black helmet.

As he was grazed by another shot.

He was supposed to be aiming for the storm trooper helmet Kanan had set out.

What did Zaria and Kanan mean by becoming one with the force?

How could Ezra put his trust in something so intangible? How could Ezra let down his guard to the strange power?

"You're not focusing Ezra." Kanan sighed.

"You have yet to hit the target. You've got blocking down. But you shouldn't just let the shots go where they want."

Ezra could feel Zaria gaze at him.

She wasn't a fan of holding back. She never went easy on him. She released a barrage of laser fire at him.

"The keyword is yet! I have yet to hit the target." Ezra let himself be distracted. His skin singed, it hurt.

Kanan sighed. He waved his hand signaling everyone to stop. Kanan grabbed the Baca cream and applied it to Ezra's shoulder. Ezra pulled off his helmet.

"You're impatient, distracted and you are rushing this. What's wrong?" Kanan sent Ezra a stern look.

"I don't want to miss Senator Trayvis's transmission."

Zaria gave Ezra a searching lot.

"I didn't know you were into politics."

"Ezra we don't know when Trayvis will transmit next. It has no pattern." Hera tells him.

"He's been on more and more frequently. And I have a feeling! Aren't I supposed to trust my instinct?" Ezra breathed.

"Today is the day."

Zaria mocked sniffed with tears.

"My little Brolin, is growing up. His first _feeling_." Zaria wiped away imaginary tears.

"Is it a force thing?" Sabine questions.

"Feelings." Zeb snickered.

"You need to stay in the moment Ezra. You need to reach your connection to the force."

Kanan ordered everyone back into position.

The exercise started again.

With everyone firing at Ezra. He became flustered and clumsy.

Ezra felt something trying to guide him. He stopped fighting it. Zaria and Kanan didn't fight it. Neither should he.

Something flashed before his eyes.

He gasped surrendering.

Voices filled his head.

' _You there!_ ' Ezra didn't recognize this voice.

' _Senator! You're in great danger!_ ' Ezra jumped that was Hera's voice.

' _Put the Saber down boy! Now!_ ' A man snarled.

Ezra could see a sewer tunnel.

Hera, Ezra and the senator were running. Zaria was not with them but trapped in a sealed tunnel. Agent Callus pointing a blaster at her. Her sharp teeth were bared.

" _You're not safe here Senator. The empire knows you're here!_ " Hera looks at Trayvis. Ezra saw himself surrounded by stormtroopers.

Trayvis was telling him something.

" _Your parents were very brave._ "

Ezra fell.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria had caught Ezra before he fell.

"Damn it, yunoks zioplys."* She pulled off the helmet.

"You never do anything by halves. You finally purposely connect with the force and now you're stuck in a vision." Zaria chided as she laid Ezra down on the ground.

Kanan stared at his padawan.

"A vision." He whispered.

Zeb shook his head.

"Is no one going to mention how scary efficient Ezra got back there?"

"He blocked every shot and hit the trooper helmet every time. I've never seen him move like that. It was so fast." Sabine added.

"Is it going to be like that every time Ezra uses the force?" Hera frets.

Zaria and Kanan shook their heads.

"No, Ezra just needs to learn control." Kanan paced.

"His contention to the force is deeper than we first thought." Zaria stroked her covered chin. She leaned down to look at Ezra.

"He needs deeper meditation techniques. He needs to stop fighting the force. He fights it all of the time. Then when he taps into it he gets so overwhelmed."

Kanan nodded.

"You're right."

Ezra groaned and opened his eyes.

"What happened?"

Chopper beeped loudly.

"What do you mean I fainted?" Ezra blushed.

Chopper was gleeful in teasing Ezra.

"You lost yourself in the force." Zaria sent a wave of comfort and heal to Ezra through their bond.

"We can talk about it later, for now you need rest." Kanan reached down to pick Ezra up.

Ezra's eyes widened and he bolted up.

"I saw something! It was so real. Senator Gall Trayvis is in danger. I saw him on Lothal, the empire is after him. He knew my parents! He said they were brave!" Ezra babbled. Ezra pointed at Sabine and Zeb.

"You were both there sneaking around in the dark. Troopers were every where."

"Sounds like a routine day to me." Zeb felt shivers down his back. _Who knew the brat really was a Jedi. It was hard to remember it when the kid was goofing off._

"Zaria was cornered by Agent kallus. Hera and I were with Trayvis."

Ezra swayed on his feet. Zeb sprang to catch him.

"Okay you need to rest." Hera orders.

 **This is a line break.**

Ezra hadn't left the transmitter for a moment. He was set to record Senator Trayvis. He knew the senator would hack into the imperial broadcast soon.

In forty-five seconds.

"Hurry quick! Senator Trayvis's transmission is starting." The rest of the crew joined him.

The acting governor's wispy voice and figure flicked on the broadcast.

"The insurgents terrorising our world will soon be brought to justice."

Zaria snorted.

 _That was a bit harsh. They were not dominating force on Lothal._

"I have assurances that-" The acting governor image flickered out of the picture. Senator Trayvis appearing.

"This is Senator Trayvis in exile here, my citizens."

Zaria stiffened. Zaria had a very bad feeling about this.

Ezra cheered.

"Right on time!"

"Coming to you with a reminder that the empire applies the term "Insurgents" to anyone who dares defy their tyranny." The strong politician's voice rang out.

"Such as the courageous souls on Lothal."

Ezra's eyes lit up.

"He's talking about us!"

"To those rebels, I have a message. The sun may have set on the old Republic. But a new freedom can be won! If we are brave enough to fight for it today! We cannot let the Empire control us. We must rebel, see you soon my friends." The transmission returned to the imperial feed. Zaria flicked her hand and turned off the transmitter with the force.

"He's coming to meet with us." Hera concludes from the message.

"And you know that how, exactly?" Zeb scowls.

"My contact Fulcrum, says the senator hides codes in his transmissions." Hera gives Zeb an annoyed look.

"When Trayvis mentions a world it's always where he goes next." Hera explained.

"It's a trap. I don't trust this senator. The empire has the best decoders around. There's no way they haven't caught onto this." Zaria tells the room at large very bluntly.

Kanan nodded in agreement. Zaria sent him thanks through their bond.

"I agree."

"Trayvis is too smart!" Ezra jumped up.

"You know, he pirates the empire's signal just like my folks did."

"When something is to good to be true it usually is. Not everything is as it seems. There's something off about this whole thing. Don't you feel it?"

Zaria snapped.

Ezra frowned at her.

"Didn't you tell me the last Senator Trayvis's transmission about Luminara the Jedi master was a trap laid by the Inquisitor? Trayvis's transmission has already been compromised once. The senator is a fake." Zaria reasons.

"That's not true Zaria!" Ezra clenched his fists.

Zaria raised an eyebrow stalk.

"You're letting your emotions cloud your vision and your instincts. You are defending Trayvis because you think he knew your parents. Clear your mind."

"My mind is clear!" Ezra spat.

"I know what I saw."

Zaria rolled her eyes.

"Visions aren't a sure thing. If you go into one with emotions it will never be as clear with out. Ask Kanan!"

Ezra turned to Kanan.

"Ezra, visions can be tricky. There are many possible futures. Visions can be dangerous. You can't only rely on what you saw. If you listen to the force it makes visions easier to understand." Kanan explains.

"No, I know what I saw. Just trust me!" Ezra begged.

Zaria pursed her lips under her headdress.

Kanan shook his head.

"Okay, if you feel that strongly. We will see where this goes."

Hera broke the tension.

"Trayvis uses clues only locals would know. It would go right over the empire's head."

"It's called the Holonet, they could just search it in the database and find it." Zaria snarks. Kanan sent her a warning glance.

Irritably Zaria folds her arms over her chest and slumps down into a chair.

Hera replayed the transmission.

"That's it!" Ezra shouts.

"The new freedom murals painted on the wall in the old, old, Republic senate building."

Sabine links the transmitter to her wrist computer. A blue image of the old building flares up. Sabine narrowed down the specs of the building.

"It's been abandoned since the fall of the Republic nearly fifteen years ago. It's perfect if you want a meet and greet." Sabine comments.

"Yeah but when are we supposed to meet him?" Zeb throws up his hands.

"Duh! He worked sunset and today into his message. It's obvious." Ezra looked very proud of himself.

"It's too obvious, we need to have some insurance in case the empire is just playing us." Kanan taps a finger on his blaster.

Hera looked thoughtful.

"You've got a friend in the imperial complex don't you Ezra? Find out from him for sure about this."

Ezra wasted no time jumping up.

"I'll meet you all at my parents house at 1700 tonight." Ezra was gone before anyone could say a word.

Zaria looked at the others.

"Why does Ezra have a friend in the imperial complex?"

"We sent him to steal some data from the empire uncover as a cadet." Sabine answers.

Zaria choked.

"What!?"

Hera laughed.

"Kanan had the same reaction. "

"This cadet helped Ezra and another force sensitive boy escape. The Inquisitor was looking into it. The cadet Leonius thinks his sister was taken by an Inquisitor."

Zaria nodded.

"Most likely. So did you take pics of Ezra in the uniform?"

Hera grinned.

 **This is a line break.**

"Zare." Ezra called from the shadows.

Zare jumped. He hit the button on his cadet helmet. His dark skin now showing.

"You're a stealthy one, Dev Morgan." Zare chuckled as he entered the alley.

"He is indeed, I taught him well." Zaria jumped down from a nearby roof. Both human boys gasped.

"Seriously? You followed me!?" Ezra glared at Zaria.

Zaria fix her headdress.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your little friend?"

Ezra scoffed.

"Zare, this is Zaria. She is my overprotective adopted sister."

Zaria held out her hand for the imperial boy to take.

"I have heard about your sister. Admirable to keep search for her, I hope you find her."

Zare took the hand.

"Thank you, it's nice to meet you. Dev wouldn't shut up about back at the Academy."

Zaria even though Ezra was an idiot and frakking her off. He was still her little Brolin.

Zaria cooed and hugged Ezra to her chest.

"Awwww! You do care."

Ezra colored with embarrassment.

"Get off me!"

Zare laughed.

"You remind me of how my sister and I were."

Ezra turned serious.

"Thanks, for meeting me last minute Cadet Zare. By the way how did you get past the gate?"

Zare gave a pleased smile.

"I've been promoted, class three clearance now."

Zaria's gold eyes gleamed.

"Class three clearance? My, what a resourceful friend you have Brolin." Zaria felt the force nudge her.

"You must be careful the higher you go. One wrong step and it will all end for you." She found herself saying.

The boy nodded somber.

"I know, it's really hard to do what I do. But it will be worth the sacrifice."

"Don't sacrifice too much." Zaria warns.

Ezra hit his elbow into Zaria's side.

"Congratulations, Zare."

Zare grinned.

"Congratulations to both of us. Thanks to you I got my promotions. These new clerical and courier duties give me access to greater intelligence you and other rebels can use."

Ezra and Zaria hid behind the crates as outside the alley a squad of Stormtroopers marched past.

Zare's face grew tense.

"Unless of course I get caught." Zare put a hand to his neck.

"We'd come and get you." Ezra says at once.

"You're a smart boy." Zaria advises him.

"Don't get caught. For the path you have chosen you must be as ruthless as the enemy or you will be caught."

Zare chuckled weakly.

"Agent Kallus and every other section leader have been in secret tactical meetings. He gathering troopers for a major operation."

"Any idea what for?" Ezra asks.

"Something to do with the old senate building. It might just be a drill." Zare answered.

Ezra shot Zaria a triumphant look.

"That means it's a trap Ezra!" She hissed.

"No it means the senator is in danger of the empire." Ezra argues.

"Damn it! Ezra!" Zaria smacks her forehead.

"It's no drill, I need to warn the others." Ezra stood up.

"One more thing before you go. I'm being transferred off world to the officers Academy on Arkanis." Zare announced.

Ezra bit his lip.

"There's something you should know."

"Don't tell me you're gonna miss me Dev." Zare folded his arms.

"What no! I mean sure, but. . . . That's not it. Dev Morgan isn't my real name." Ezra put a hand to his neck.

Zare blinked.

"It's not your name?"

"No it's-" Ezra was interrupted by storm troopers.

"You there!"

"Time to go." Zaria sank into a battle stance. She drew her Sith vibro sword.

Storm troopers flooded the ally.

"Oh no my vision! No time to explain." Ezra hissed to Zare.

He shoved past him.

Zaria turned away and sprinted after Ezra.

Zaria could hear Zare slip into his role.

"They were selling black market goods, They attacked me as I tried to stop them! Those two are insurgents!" Zare shouted.

Zaria sped up, she grabbed Ezra by the collar and jumped. The force expanding her jump after a few leaps. They were on the roof tops.

 **This is a line break.**

Ever since the empire became focused on the rebels. Zaria had noticed the increase in crime. Vizago was happy enough to work without eyes on him.

The gritty graffiti littered the outside of Ezra's old home. Ezra slid his card into the reader.

Zaria put a hand on his shoulder.

Chopper greeted them as they entered.

"Where is everyone?" Ezra frowned.

Zaria looked at the secret entrance to the basement. She put her hands over Ezra's eyes.

"Reach out with the force and find them that way. Focus on Kanan, he should be the easiest to find."

Ezra slumped.

"Come on, do we have to do this now?" He complained.

Zaria didn't let go.

Ezra sighed. He straightened and took a deep breath.

"The basement." He muttered.

Zaria released him.

"Good job little Brolin."

Ezra stopped at the hole in his old living room floor. Voices drifted up.

"It's pretty old. His parents used it to cast their messages to the public." Sabine spoke.

"I don't get it. They weren't soldiers, just citizens. Why did they risk all? Why leave their son to survive alone?" Zeb sounded confused.

"They had hope. That they could do something to make the galaxy a better place for their son." Hera tinkered the the old transmitter.

Ezra jumped down, Zaria followed after him. "You are both cutting it a little late." Sabine smiles.

Ezra nodded.

"Kanan and Zaria were right. The empire knows about the meeting. Kallus has an operation planned to capture or worse for Trayvis."

"Yeah for us." Zaria sneered.

Zeb punched her in the side.

Ezra ignored them both.

"The imperials will have numbers." Zeb grumbled.

"We have surprise." Kanan says.

"What give you that idea?" Sabine out a hand on her hip.

Kanan smiles.

"I'm being optimistic."

"No! You are being stupid! Skystas zh'ae neda mes visa zenoti sis kash zo neda."* Zaria threw up her hands in disgust.

"Tau aras visa bukle kia mrias kodel gal nenx tau ziur reiksme."*

Ezra grabbed Zaria's red hand.

"Zaria, please I need to do this."

Zaria's anger deflated.

"Ezra. . . ."

Ezra squeezed her hand in his.

"Zaria trust me."

Zaria looked away.

"That's no fair, using your cuteness against me." Zaria sighed heavily.

"Fine, let's do it. Why the Sith not?"

 **This is a line break.**

They scoped out the old senate building.

"There's a ship with two protocol droids. Trayvis must already be inside." Sabine reported.

"I'm not seeing any imperials around."

Kanan shook his head.

"They're here I sense it." Kanan looked down below them.

"There, the Imps are patrolling the ground. They haven't move in."

"We need to save Trayvis before they do." Ezra hits his fist into his open palm.

Hera tilted her head.

"Why haven't they moved in?"

Zaria snorted.

"Trayvis is just the bait, we are the catch."

"Let's just walk away from this one, we don't even know the senator is even in there." Zeb reasons.

"He is! I saw it!" Ezra glared at Zeb. Zeb raised both his four fingered hands and sighed.

"If we get up there unseen perhaps we can fly Trayvis out on his ship." Kanan suggests. Ezra grinned.

"I know a way in! No one will see us!"

Zaria didn't like the look on Ezra's face.

"It's the sewers isn't?" She says flatly.

 **This is a line break.**

Chopper vindictively shorted out the imperial droid and rammed it into the sewer tunnel.

"You are stone cold, my little destroyer." Zaria patted Chopper with approval.

Zeb sniffed the tunnel.

"Urgh! Why does our only way in have to smell so bad?"

"The smell makes the tunnels an imperial free zone." Ezra smirked as he started down the latter.

They all climbed down into the tunnel.

"Chopper, stay here we will need this to be our exit . Hey-" Kanan's head would have been crushed if not for his Jedi reflexes.

Kanan began to curse at the Droid but quickly stopped at the look Hera was giving him.

Ezra played tour guide.

"There used to be too much water to walk down here. But since the empire started rationing it's as dry as Tatooine."

"Trust me it's not. Tatooine has two suns! Two suns! Worst planet ever." Zaria interrupted.

"Certainly hasn't helped the smell." Zeb waved a hand in front of his nostrils.

"It does smell like you." Sabine.

Zeb looked offended.

Sabine rolled her eyes under her Mandalorian helmet.

"It smells like Ezra." She clarified.

Ezra brightened.

"You know what I smell like?"

"Focus." Kanan snapped his fingers by Ezra's ear.

Hera laughed.

 **This is a line break.**

Ezra grinned. His blue eyes on Kanan. Kanan's outstretched hand used the force to distract the two droids.

"Cool." Ezra whispered.

They ran to the door.

Kanan looked at Zeb and Sabine and pointed a finger upwards. Zeb and Sabine left them to climb the roof.

They entered the darkened senate building. The freedom murals was bathed with the light from the windows.

Senator Gall Trayvis stood behind the podium. Two droid guards at his sides.

"Who's there?" He called.

Ezra ran forward.

"We are freedom fighters on Lothal."

"Welcome, I was beginning to think no one got my message." Trayvis looked closer at them.

Hera spoke up.

"Senator you're in terrible danger. The empire knows you're here."

"That's impossible." Trayvis's eyes shifted.

Zaria pulled Hera out of the way as two blaster shots made smoking holes into the two droids. The Droids fell to the floor sparking.

Zaria drew her gold lightsaber. Kanan and Ezra did the same.

Hera aim her blaster. They formed a circle around Trayvis.

Agent Kallus stepped through the door.

"Jedi knight Kanan Jarrus, and his padawan Jabba." The ISB agent sneered.

He turned to look at Hera and Zaria.

"And what's this a Twi'lek I've yet to meet. Judging from your must be the talented pilot." Hera bared her teeth at him.

Kallus stared at Zaria's headdress. The acting governor Maketh Tua stepped into the room.

"I have special orders for your capture." The agent glared at Zaria.

"Where is the Mandalorian and the Lasat?" Tua demanded.

"You won't talk then my troopers become a firing squad." Agent Kallus threatened.

"You better do as he says." Trayvis sounds frightened.

Zaria snickered.

"Well then we have nothing to worry about. Storm troopers couldn't hit a Target even if it was already dead."

The agent stared coldly at her.

"I won't miss." He promised.

Zaria laughed.

"I believe your orders are to take me alive."

Ezra winked at Trayvis.

"Not to worry our friends will be along shortly."

Zaria sprang into action as soon as the smoke cover from the bombs Sabine and Zeb had dropped hit the ground.

Her lightsaber sliced off limbs.

Hera stayed close to Trayvis.

Sabine's shots hit all of her targets. Zeb took down troopers left and right.

"Let's bail!" Kanan ordered.

They made their way to the exit.

Sabine threw three more bombs to block their exit from the imperials.

Hera groaned.

"I was really hoping that shuttle would still be here."

Zaria looked at the empty platform.

"Frak!" Kanan swore.

An imperial ship rose up from below.

"Urgh! Back to the sewers we go." Zeb growled.

Sabine remotely opened the entrance to the sewer.

"You want me to go in there?" Trayvis looked sick.

"It's not so bad once you get use to the the smell." Ezra says cheerfully.

"You never get use to the smell." Zeb snickered.

Kallus was shooting at them.

Sabine closed the hatch doors.

 **This is a line break.**

They ran through the tunnels.

Ezra could feel his blood pump excitedly.

They had done it! They had saved Trayvis.

"Ezra! Stop for a second." Hera called.

Trayvis was leaning against the wall.

Breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry my young friends. I'm not as strong as I used to be." Trayvis wheezed.

"I have never been pursued like this empire has never come this close."

Kanan gave the senator a critical eye.

"I thought you would have had more experience with running from the Empire."

Blaster fire filled the tunnel.

They took cover in the offshooting tunnels.

"Split up! We'll draw them away. Get to the hatch." Kanan yelled.

Ezra, Hera and Trayvis ran.

Zaria looked at Kanan.

"Go I will distract them for you."

Kanan looked ready to protest but stopped at the look Zaria gave him.

"Be careful." Kanan tells her.

Zaria grinned under her headdress.

"When am I not?"

She dove into the fray of shots.

She activated both of her lightsabers.

She cut down the Troopers in her path.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria hunted down her prey. She was swift and severed any troopers heads she came acrossed. It was done with an effectiveness and it was painless. Zaria found the troopers to be pitiful slaves of the Empire.

They weren't the ones she was after.

Zaria lunged as Agent Kallus shot a stun blast at her.

She turned around to face him.

He looked at his men and glared at her.

"You're different from the other rebels. They don't actively try to kill. You do."

Zaria regarded the ISB Agent.

She held her gold lightsaber in a defensive position.

"Why would I leave them alive so in the future they can harm my family? I am just being practical. In way it's more like mercy. The Empire kills more of its troopers, more painfully than I do. Better stop failing Agent or you will be next." Zaria's voice full of dark satire.

Kallus glared.

He raised his blaster.

Zaria deflected his shots.

More troopers join in coming up from behind.

Zaria growled. They were boxing her into a corner. Zaria's sharps eyes looked for a way out. Zaria was deflecting a blast to her head, she had no choice but to let Kallus's shot to her shoulder hit her.

She howled in pain.

Kallus smirked. The beeping made Zaria strain her ears. Kallus had ducked behind an off shoot tunnel.

The bomb was rolling towards her.

Zaria threw up her hands.

Using the force to protect her from the explosion.

She ran through the fire and dashed away. The force speeding up her escape.

 **This is a line break.**

"You're so well organized. To evade the empire you must have a large support system." Trayvis directs his question to Ezra.

"Good funding, powerful allies."

Ezra shook his head.

"Nope, this it. It's just us." He says with pride.

Trayvis gawked.

"You can't be serious."

"I hoped we could learn from you senator. Your transmissions are helping us keep going." Ezra turned around to smile at the senator.

"Just to know there is someone else out there not afraid of speaking out against the empire means a lot." Hera adds.

The sewer tunnel had a large fan to help with the smell.

Ezra walked over to it with no hesitations. Hera followed him.

Trayvis looked at it in horror. He screamed as he slipped.

Ezra ran forward and caught him.

"How should we get past this thing?" Hera eyed the fan.

"We could try to cut its power." Ezra suggested.

Hera smiled and waved a hand.

Ezra stepped closer to the fan.

Hera held out her blaster for Trayvis.

"Watch our backs would you?"

Trayvis reluctantly took it.

"I will."

Hera narrowed her eyes and turned back around.

Trayvis looked down at the weapon in his hands. Then he aimed at the two rebels.

"Enough, we are not going anywhere."

Hera didn't seemed to be surprised, she looked as if she expected this.

Ezra looked crushed.

"What? What are you doing Senator?" His voice cracked. His lightsaber was gripped with white knuckles.

"Put your Saber down, boy."

Trayvis pointed the blaster at him.

"You're - You're with the empire?" Ezra couldn't process this.

"But all the planets you visited, all the transmissions. How did word not get out about you?" Hera questions.

"Because no one ever knew. Not even my own droids." Trayvis says coldly.

"My parents used said you were a good man. That you helped light the darkness."

Trayvis examined Ezra closer.

"No." He whispered.

"You are the son of the Bridgers." It was as if Trayvis had seen a ghost.

"Ephraim and Mira Bridger. I don't know how I couldn't see it before. You have your mother's eyes. Little Ezzie."

Ezra took a step forward.

"So you do recognize me."

Trayvis nodded.

"Your mother was training to succeed me in the Republic senate. It's where she met your father. A soldier in the grand Republic army. Your parents were brave, it was your mother who inspired me in the first place." Trayvis was lost in memories. His face darkened.

"But it was foolish. No one can stand against the empire. They captured us all. The things they did to your parents, to me. Unspeakable."

Trayvis continued.

"Insurgents aren't arrested, they are identified and watched. Unless you start spreading hope then they take you. After two years of torture, they came to us with a choice. Join the Empire or die. Your parents chose death."

Ezra swayed on his feet.

"They cared more for freedom then you, their own son." Trayvis voice was cruel.

Ezra floundered for words.

"You can't be a traitor! You were my Uncle Gall. You used to eat dinners with us. You used to tell me stories of the jedi, and the Republic."

Trayvis harden his face.

"That man died the day the empire took him away. Your parents are gone and you are quickly going down the same path."

Ezra couldn't breathe. Tears ran down his face.

"They aren't gone, as long as we are still fight. As long as Ezra is still fighting all that they spoke out for lives on." Hera marched towards Trayvis.

Trayvis's eyes widened.

"Stop! Don't come any closer!"

His hands shook.

Hera ignored him, the blaster was so close it was nearly touching Hera.

Trayvis pulled the trigger.

There was a faint click and nothing happened.

"W-what?" He stammered. Trayvis hit the floor out cold from the punch. Hera shook out her wrist.

"A real rebel would know when they are holding a charged blaster."

Hera pulled Ezra into her arms.

"I'm so sorry Ezra."

Ezra cried into Hera's chest.

Ezra pulled away and wiped at his eyes.

"You knew."

"He tried to get us to surrender, he wasn't tired when he stopped. He was waiting for Kallus to catch up. And he wanted our secrets." Hera sighed.

"Ezra, why didn't you tell us that you knew Trayvis?"

Ezra looked at the ground.

"I was really young and it turns out I didn't know him. He and my parents were friends. He disappeared first. My parents were worried, my dad and my mom were going to go rescue him." Ezra tells Hera glumly.

"I still remember the night the Troopers came to take my parents away. My mom was tucking me into bed. We heard yelling down stairs. My mom told me to hide and they went with the troopers. Trayvis must have betrayed them."

Ezra looked up at the sound of footsteps.

Kanan, Sabine and Zeb jumped down from a tunnel.

"What happened here?" Zeb's ears twitched.

"He was working for the empire." Hera informs the others.

"The senator was a traitor? Frak! Is there anyone on our side." Sabine cursed.

Kanan glared down at Trayvis.

"We are leaving him to the Empire."

"I called it." Zaria jumped down from a tunnel.

"So Kallus is on my trail. And the bastard is damn good shot. If I wasn't in such pain. I would be impressed by his strategy of fighting me." Zaria gripped her wounded shoulder. Her clothes were singed.

"You smell like smoke." Sabine sniffed.

Ezra gasped.

"Zaria, you're hurt."

"Agent Kallus, is fond of throwing bombs at me." Zaria groans.

"Seriously we need to move like now! He can't be far behind me."

"The only way out is through there." Hera points to the giant spinning fan.

"We just need to stop it long enough for us to get through. Zaria let Zeb help you through. Ezra you help me with this. Cover us."

Zaria gratefully leaned on Zeb.

Ezra and Kanan stood side by side. Their hands outstretched. The fan slowed.

"Incoming!" Sabine drew his blaster.

Storm troopers began shooting. Zeb lifted Zaria up and put her on his shoulder.

He dove into the stopped fan first.

Kallus shouted as he arrived.

"Shoot the Jedi!"

Hera and Sabine were through the fan.

Only Ezra and Kanan were left.

Kanan and Ezra strained in holding the fan still.

"Now!" Kanan ordered, he and Ezra jumped through.

Trayvis groaned and sat up. Ezra looked back. Their gazes met.

Trayvis looked like he wanted to say something. His eye throbbing from Hera's punch.

Ezra turned away.

Trayvis's eyes dimmed.

Cold fear hit the pit of Trayvis's stomach.

The seething agent was behind him.

Trayvis quivered in fear as he saw the blaster in Kallus's hand.

He was going to die.

"How did you let them get away? Two months worth of planning! TWO MONTHS WASTED!" Kallus roared.

Trayvis swallowed.

He was the fool, he was the coward. For years he had been able to push his guilt at betraying Mira and Ephraim to the side. But seeing little Ezra had it broke it like a dam. Now it was gushing to the surface in waves. He deserves to died, it would be poetic justice to die at the hands of imperials.

He looked up at the nose of the blaster pointed directly at his face.

Agent Kallus regarded him with a disgusted look.

"It seems Senator the Empire no longer requires your services. Since the rebels got away. They will no doubt be informing all they know to the people. So everyone will know you are a spineless Loth rat who sided with the Empire."

Trayvis closed his eyes for the last time.

Kallus pulled the trigger.

Trayvis's dead body fell to the floor.

"Clean this mess up. I have to go report to command." Kallus wasn't looking forward to it.

 **This is a line break.**

"I didn't see it, I was so wrong. My vision was so off." Ezra hugged his arms to himself.

"Ezra, it's okay." Hera hugged him.

"You and Zaria always say I should trust the force I thought that's what I was doing? I'm the worst Jedi ever! I nearly got as all caught and for what?" Ezra blames himself.

"Some stupid vision."

"Zaria was right you let your emotions cloud the vision. It takes training and discipline to master force sight. And honestly there are so many possible futures. You could have seen one where Trayvis had made a different choice." Kanan put an arm around Ezra.

"Visions can be difficult to interpret if your emotions get in the way or if you are vulnerable."

Ezra's face became curious.

"What was your last vision?"

Kanan snorted.

"I saw a bratty kid alway giving me a headache." Kanan ruffled his hair.

Ezra grinned.

"I guess you read that one wrong."

Kanan smiled.

"Yeah, I did."

Hera had sat down on the ghost's ramp.

Ezra joined her.

"I wanted to believe in Trayvis too." Hera admits.

"I wanted to believe there were good people out there like my father. My father was a freedom fighter for Ryloth since before the Clone wars."

"What's wrong with us?" Ezra sighed.

"There's nothing wrong for looking for the light in the darkness Ezra." Hera tells him.

They both looked up at the night sky filled with stars.

 **This is a line break.**

Ezra sat on the top of the Ghost.

His legs dangled. He watched the sunrise.

He couldn't focus on meditation this morning. Zaria was quiet as she sat down next to Ezra.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Zaria asks.

Ezra stared out across the plains.

They sat in silence.

Ezra spoke, his tone grim.

"I had a vision last night."

Zaria listened intently.

"I saw my parents and Trayvis. My parents never gave in. Then I saw Trayvis, and Kallus shot him." Ezra's hands shook.

"I thought I would feel satisfaction if Trayvis died. Like justice for my parents. I knew Trayvis, he was like a grandfather when I was small. But when I saw what happened to him I wasn't. . . ." Ezra trailed off.

Zaria hugged him until he was ready to continue.

"It wasn't right, he was scared. Kallus just shot him." Ezra's voice trembled.

"How can the empire do this? They ruined Trayvis. They just ruin people. We have to stop them. Trayvis made a choice to betray my parents but had had to make that choice because of what the empire has done. What's wrong with me? I wanted to hurt him." Ezra admitted.

"But I couldn't do it."

Zaria wiped at Ezra's eyes.

"It means you are a good person Erza. Just like your parents. I don't know if I could spare a life of someone like that. But you did."

"You're a good person too, Zaria. A little violent but kind." Kanan stood behind them.

The two started.

Zaria chuckled.

"A Jedi telling a Sith she is a good person. This is a moment for the history vids."

Kanan sat down on the other side of Ezra.

They shared a moment of mirth together through their bond.

"Ezra, Zaria is right. Why don't we show you how to meditate for visions."

Zaria kissed the top of Ezra's head.

"I need to go and help Sabine. You two get started, I'll be up in a while." Zaria left the master and padawan alone.

 **End of chapter 5**

 **Sith Translations**

 **Brolin= Brother**

 **Little fool***

 **Fools! It's a trap! We all know it's a trap!***

 **They are all going to die! Why can't they see sense it?***

 **So I have a headcanon about Ezra's parents. I thought it would be cool if his dad was a clone.**

 **And his parents met because Mira was a senator in training. I don't know for sure if Gall Trayvis was the senator for Lothal. But he is in my story. I wanted his betrayal to cut Ezra deep. So I made that Ezra's parents were working together helping Trayvis make his transmissions and making their own. Trayvis gets caught by the empire and in his being tortured let's the Bridgers names slip.**

 **The Bridgers are taken away leaving Ezra on his own.**

 **Trayvis makes a choice later on to join the empire. Ezra's parents refuse and are executed.**

 **In the end I had Agent Kallus kill Trayvis because the empire could easily get a look alike and do what they want. They don't need Trayvis alive. I also wanted to foreshadow Empire's way of handling failure.**

 **I think a lot of the imperials are also victims who don't find out the truth of the empire until it is too late.**

 **So I have started Chapter 6 and I plan for it to be short stories about character interactions before it get to the next three chapters of the plot heavy season finale.**

 **So I will be working on that and the next three chapter when I can.**

 **Thank you to all those who have favorited, followed, review and read my story.**


	6. Chapter 6

**CF Chapter 6**

 **Disclaimer: see first chapter.**

 **Zaria convinces the team to watch soaps with her. So this chapter is going to be more focused on Zaria interacting with the Rebels.**

 **A easy going chapter before the next three. So enjoy just the Zaria oneshots.**

 **I have been swamped at work. But who thinks Season 2 is freaking awesome?**

 **I am loving it!**

 **So upper T rating, the imperial officer really likes his job of cutting people up.**

 **Chapter 6**

 **Zeb**

Scum and unwashed sentients packed the bar. As Vizago's hologram flickered, Zaria let her head fall back with a groan.

"Gods of the Bogan! Why does this have to take so long?"

Zeb grunted in agreement.

"If you don't want the job, Jarrus. I have plenty more who would." Vizago's hologram folds his arms over his chest and examines his nails. Zaria stood next the crew as Kanan negotiated with Vizago.

"Okay, deal." Kanan and Vizago nodded at each other, the deal being met.

"Finally!" Zeb exclaimed.

He shifted his bo-rifle on his shoulder as he threw up in his hands in relief.

Kanan waved the rebels to him.

"Okay, this job only needs four people. Hera and I have decided that Zaria and Zeb deserve a rest. So you guys can watch Chopper." Kanan outlines the plan.

"Sabine, Ezra, Hera and I will go pick up the goods on Jukka and then deliver them to Vizago. Any questions?"

Zaria scowled.

"I want to come! Why do I have to stay behind? Is this punishment because I was too ' _violent'_ with those brats?"

"Yes." Hera and Kanan say together.

"Zaria, you pulled out your vibro sword and threat to cut of those kids' legs because they kept kicking their ball at you." Hera scolds.

"I was joking. . . . . mostly. And those brats deserve it." Zaria pouted.

"Why am I being punished?" Zeb's ears lay flat against his head in peeved manner.

Kanan exchanged a look with Hera.

"You and Zaria need to get to know each other better." He says quickly.

Zeb narrowed his eyes.

"Sure it is. It's because I'm too noticeable, where you're going isn't it?"

Hera nodded.

"With so few Lasats left you would be noticed. The slavers would be very interested in you."

"Fine." Zeb set his bulky shoulders.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria leaned on a wall as Zeb bartered with shopkeeper for Lai purple bovine meat.

Zeb had taken one sniff when they entered the market place and all but ran towards the stall. Zeb paid for his meat and was tearing into it in a savoring way.

"I haven't had Lai meat since I escaped Lasan." The Lasat ate the food with reverence.

Zaria sniffed under her headdress.

"Smells pretty good." She shrugged.

Zeb gave her a considering look.

"Most don't like the pungent smell of the meat."

"I have a good sense of smell. It smells delicious to me." Zaria inhaled again.

Zeb ripped some of the meat and handed it to the surprised Zaria.

"You don't have too." She protested.

"Just eat it." Zeb ordered taking another bite.

Zaria checked to see if anyone was paying attention. No one was. Zaria pulled down the cloth enough that she could put the strip of meat into her mouth. Zaria chew and savored the flavor.

It was tangy, and had a vinegar like taste.

"I like it!" She swallowed a grin on her face, she pulled her head dress back up.

They wandered around the market.

The markets of Yuda a small moon of a gas planet had lots of exceptional weapons and clothing.

Zaria stared at the clothes stalls with longing. Zeb rolled his eyes.

"Go on then. Meet me here at the fountain around mid morning." Zaria didn't look behind as her feet carried her to the stalls of silks, and bright colored cloth.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria had resisted the urge to buy the five beautiful dresses she had found.

Zaria grinned as she saw the large purple form of Zeb by a weapon stall. She pounced playfully and it was too late as she sensed that this was not Zeb. The Lasat threw her off. Zaria was pinned to the ground a heavy foot on her airway. The Lasat had a jagged scar that ran down the side of her face. Her sharp fangs bared at Zaria. She had dark gray fur with lilac stripes.

Her hair was done up in a mohawk. It gave her an intimidating appearance as if the knives and blasters were not enough. Her acid green eyes burning into Zaria's gold ones.

"You're dead meat kid." She growled pressed down harder on Zaria's throat.

Zaria couldn't breath. A roar and the female Lasat was pulled off of her.

Zeb helped her up.

"You alright?" He asked gruffly.

Zaria nodded.

"Oh great! It's you." The female Lasat hissed as she brushed off the trash she had landed in.

"Palila Trod." Zeb narrowed his eyes, his ears flat against his head as he rumbled the name.

Palila smirked.

"It's been a while, Garazeb of the honor guard. Still can't resist playing the hero I see."

Zeb snarled at her.

"What are you doing here?"

Palila's eyes lost their amusement.

"My business is my own, Captain." She spat. Zaria soothed her aching throat with the force.

"It's my fault Zeb, I thought she was you for a moment. I tackled her and realized too late she wasn't you."

Zeb gave her a flat stare.

Palila's lip curled in indignation.

"I am a thousand times better looking than that goodie two shoes!"

Zeb snorted.

"You haven't changed a bit from the arrogant youngling that used to cause me so much trouble."

"I'm twenty-five now. I'm not a little girl anymore. You haven't changed a bit. Still a old stuck up bastard. But you know what has changed?" Palila's tone was cutting.

"You're not a honor guard anymore."

Zeb flinched.

Palila smiled darkly at them.

"In fact you're a criminal now just like me. Oh I've heard the rumors of the purple Lasat who works with Vizago. Who is suspected of rebel activity. How's it feel to be just like me? The great Garazeb Orrelios who sat by watching as our people slaughtered. If the council had taken my father's words to heart. Our people might have survived." She was face to face with Zeb now.

Zeb shoved her away.

He looked to be ashamed.

Zaria hadn't know he was a member of the honor guard. It must be hard living how he is now compared to what he once was. It shown how much she didn't know about him.

Palila looked ready to continue to egg Zeb into a fight.

"Enough!" Zaria's voice was laced the command with the force.

"Keep talking and I will be forced to shut you up. Come on Zeb." Zaria grabbed his arm and lead him away.

 **This is a line break.**

The bar was smoky and crowed.

Zeb was in a fowl mood. Zaria knew of the genocide of Lasan but she had never spoke of it with Zeb. Zaria sipped her drink.

"Who was she?"

Zeb's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists.

"That was Palila Trod. She was nothing but trouble her and her father. Bounty hunters, they stole weapons from the royal vault while I was on duty. They killed for money and worked for the Separatists in the Clone wars. They put our world in danger of losing our neutrality at risk." Zeb slammed a fist on the table.

"So they weren't upstanding citizens on Lasan. I sensed Palila was in some sort of trouble." Zaria tells him.

"Doesn't surprise me. Little brat always did have a habit of running her mouth. Wonder where Puggles Trodd is?" Zeb knocked back his drink.

"Puggles Trodd is her father, I assume?" Zaria drinks the last of her only drink.

Zeb had already had five.

"Let's get back to the hotel." Zaria stood up.

"You drink any more you are going to have the worst hangover tomorrow."

Zeb grumbled but let her lead him out.

The hotel room was small. Zaria took the couch. Zeb was too big, so he got the bed.

Zeb's snores turned into whimpers and sobs. He muttered pleads in his native tongue.

Zaria didn't need to know what Zeb was saying the meaning was clear in the force.

Zeb's grief, guilt, rage, and horror beat against her mental shields.

Zaria look at the night sky through the foggy glass window.

The Stars shone brightly. After Zeb's nightmares didn't die like she hoped they would. Zaria crept over to Zeb.

All she had to do was calm his thoughts and nightmares with the force like her parents had done for her.

Zaria hesitantly put her hand on Zeb's back. She choked on the smell of melted flesh.

Bodies and melted goop surrounded her.

She felt Zeb's pain.

She could see the puddles of what was once his teenaged nephew, his wife, his parents, his sister and her husband.

Imperials invading Lasan. It was sickening to see what the Empire had done to these people. Zeb taken as a slave. Zeb was filled with rage as he smashed the imperial slave owner. Crushing his skull.

The Wookies coming to rescue others but Zeb left behind in solitary confinement. Whether it was because too much was going on or if the others had been frightened of him he didn't know.

Kanan opening the door.

Zeb's life force close to death.

Zaria chocked this time it was because of Zeb's large hands around her neck. She couldn't breathe. She molded the force around Zeb's hands. She squeezed them.

Zeb dropped her to the floor. He tackled her. His fist slammed into her face.

His eyes were savage and wild. He was still lost in his nightmares. Zaria put as much force influence as she could into her voice.

" _WAKE UP!_ "

Zeb reeled back howling as he put his hands over his ears in pain.

Zaria panted, she put a hand up to heal the damage from Zeb's punch.

Zeb looked at her with haunted eyes.

"I did this." Self loathing dripping from his words.

"Palila brought back memories for you. I understand, I have done the same as you before." Zaria got up off the floor.

Zeb wouldn't look at her.

Zaria sighed.

"You want to know the real reason Ezra didn't live with me back on Lothal?"

Zeb looked up at her from his slump.

"Why?"

Zaria took a deep breath.

"We did, until Ezra was nine. I saw a woman in the market that day that reminded me of my mother. It made all of the memories, my nightmares come rushing back. I was reliving a memory one night." Zeb pulled his knees to his chest and listened.

"Ezra the idiot. . . . . .the kind boy that he is tried to comfort me. I was still in the dream. I force choked Ezra. I nearly killed him." Zaria's voice broke.

"He didn't remember anything when he woke up. And I was too ashamed to tell him. I hated myself, I stopped using the force. I didn't sleep, I was afraid if I did I would hurt Ezra."

"How did you fix it?" Zeb asked.

"I didn't, I still have them. I had nightmares after fighting the Inquisitor on that abandoned clone base. He helped hunt down my parents with Lord Vader. I just remembered what my parents taught me." Zaria looked far away.

"If I let all of the dark memories consume me. I will forget the ones full of light and love. You are going to have to find a way to deal with it too."

Zeb's broad shoulders shook.

"What if I don't know how?"

Zaria paused.

"I don't know. That's up to you to figure out. But in the meantime." Zaria pulled some capsules out of her bag.

"I use these to sleep sometimes. They put you out but not enough that you won't sense any danger coming your way."

Zeb took them from her gratefully.

"Thanks."

The night was long.

 **This is a line break.**

"We still have a few days until the others come to pick us up." Zaria looks at Zeb.

"Want to go watch people beat each up in the underground fight club? And eat junk food?"

Zeb's ears perked up at that.

"Eat snacks while watching people's teeth get knocked out? Count me in."

Zaria knew that would cheer him up.

Zaria and Zeb critiqued the fighters. Laughing when they lost, cheering when they won. Zeb munched on the food. Zaria kept buying the fruit smoothies.

"So this guy, is so going to lose." Zaria snickered at the fearful looking human gazing up at the horned Zabrak.

The fight ended quickly.

They chatted about the fight.

Zaria strategizing about what she would have done in the fight.

A shadow flitting above the rooftops made Zaria lookup. Palila was graceful as she bounded across the rooftops.

Zeb narrowed his green eyes.

The force was pushing her to follow Palila.

"Let's follow her." Zaria took off after the smaller gray Lasat.

Zeb sprang up after her.

Following Palila they were led to an imperial compound.

They stuck to the shadows.

The female Lasat hissed as she stepped forward to the Imperial officer waiting for her. Zeb growled under his breath.

"Do you have anything of use to trade this time? Last time I was not impressed." the rat faced human sneered.

Palila smirked.

"Oh I've got something to trade."

The human folded his arms in front of his chest.

"And that would be?"

Palila pulled out a blaster and fired a shot at her fellow Lasat's head. Zaria acted fast she didn't have time not to. She pushed the male out of the way. She bared her teeth under her headdress. The shot had gone messily through her right upper arm.

She gritted her teeth and began to focus on stopping the bleeding. The smell of burned flesh made her sick. Zeb covered her body with his own. The female Lasat had climbed up to the roof and had her blaster trained on Zeb.

"These two Lothal system rebels should be enough to trade for my father. Consider the prestige, Falco. You could bring a cell of rebels in all by yourself." she called down to the imp. The imperial officer rubbed his hands together in greed.

Zaria's gold eyes reflected the stun blast sent her way.

 **This is a line break.**

Zeb bellowed at the enclosed walls in rage.

"Where is she?! She needs medical treatment!" He felt everything start to close in. The cell was an exact copy of the isolation cell he had been placed in back on Lasan.

' _Zaria took that shot for me._ ' Zeb's nails dug into his hands.

' _I have to find her. I need to get out of here._ '

The door unseen before it opened from above. A bloody Palila fell through.

His nostrils flared. He pounced on her, his hands on her neck.

"You little Sculag!"

She clawed at his hand. She was slowing her struggles.

Zeb let go with disgust at himself.

' _You can't go back to that dark place. You are better than that Zeb._ ' he scowled himself.

"I-I deserve that." the female coughed.

His lips curled.

"So the Imps betrayed you! Big surprise." He scoffed.

Palila's ears went flat against her head.

"They have my father. Falco said if I found any useful Intel he would let us go. They took my father in because he stepped in between two troopers from doing something to a lady Twi'lek."

Her green eyes were dull.

"Falco has been lying to me. My father's been dead since the night they brought him in." It was against his better judgment but Zeb felt some pity with the younger Lasat.

Her shoulders shook.

He placed a comforting hand on her head.

"You gonna help me get out of here?"

Palila sniffed and wiped away the tears and snot.

"What?!" she cried.

"I just gave you up, and all the things I did before all this. And you are just gonna help me?"

He considered his words.

"Before the empire, I always had enough to eat. I had a good paying job, I was blessed with a loving family. Over the years I can understand some of the things you and your father did to survive."

Palila burst into tears.

"But kid, there are far too many of us gone. So let's start over." He held out his hand.

"My name is Garazeb Orrelios. Survivor of the genocide on Lasan. Former member of the honor guard, and rebel, I hope you can forgive me."

Palila took it.

"I'm Palila Trod, smuggler, con-artist, warrior and spy. I am daughter to Poggle Trod. Survivor of the genocide on Lasan. I used to be a cocky brat, but I met this guard who told me I could change my fate."

"You remember that?" He shook his head.

"It was the only time you fell for my innocent little girl act. Then I robbed you blind." She grinned.

"Come on let's show them, they made their last mistake by putting us in the same cell."

Zeb grinned back.

 **This is a line break.**

"What an interesting specimen." Falco yanked on Zaria's chin tendrils. Her body was sore and bleeding from the shallow incisions he had made on her.

She snarled at him. She rattled her restraints.

"I will kill you, _slowly_."

The human wasn't intimidated by her threat. "I have never seen a species quite like you. You know I have orders to hand you over to the grand Inquisitor. But I'd quite like to hand you over after extensive testing. I am a scientist, I would love to cut you up and see how you tick. Of course that male Lasat will be first. Then the female. I never get matched sets you know." He had madness in his eyes.

"You love the feeling when you cause someone pain, you love the power to cause that pain." she narrowed her eyes at him from the table she was strapped too.

"Oh I do." the human licked his lips.

Zaria drew the force to her voice.

"Well if you like pain so much." her voice was pleasant and compelling.

"Why don't you take that scalpel to yourself. I want to see your blood soak the floor."

She really, really did.

The human's eyes glazed over.

"Why don't I take that Scalpel? I never thought to cause pain to myself. This will be fascinating." He pick up a scalpel and stabbed into himself. He cut himself with glee. Zaria was sick at the practiced and precise slices.

' _How many times had this man done this to others? How many people had he cut up?'_

He was laughing now.

She used the force to undo her binds.

She floated her bag over to her.

She ignited her red lightsaber.

Zaria couldn't watch the man use his laser scalpel anymore.

"It was really meant more as an ironic punishment. You sick Seelmo. I can see you're having too much fun " she swung her laser sword.

His head went flying.

His body crumpled on top of her.

Flashes of what he had done, made her very glad she had decapitated him.

"What a twisted bastard!" She flung the body away from.

Zaria put her headdress back on.

She marched over to the control panel.

She laughed as she saw the two Lasat out of their cell and causing misery for the Imps. She gathered her things and left the room taking down any of the troopers in her way.

"So nice to see the two of you getting along.

Who wants to help me blow up this base and make it look like a fuel malfunction?" she called to the two.

They looked up at her.

"I know where they keep the good stuff. We should raid this place before we blow it." Palila suggests. Palila shot a trooper who fell dead to the floor.

 **This is a line break.**

Palila unlocked the door and let them in.

"Good haul today. Ship fuel, medical supplies, food, wine, credits, weapons, speeders. I know what I'm doing with my share."

"What?' Zeb looked at her.

"I'm going to go search for more of our people and a planet we can make our own. There are others out there and I'm going to find them all." the female Lasat motioned for Zaria to sit down.

She began to examine Zaria's wounds.

Zeb blinked.

"You don't want to join us on the Ghost?"

Palila looked up from taking care of Zaria.

"No, not right now. But I plan on starting my own Rebel crew."

"Our paths will cross again." Zaria assured Zeb.

He nodded.

"If you ever need anything, me and my crew will do what we can to help."

"Let go watch the fights underground." Palila helped Zaria lean on her shoulder.

"Come on."

"I will miss watching people beat each other up for credits." Zeb grinned.

 **This is a line break.**

Zeb and Zaria exchanged glances at each other. The looks on Hera and Kanan's faces were priceless.

"Where did you get all of this?"

"Oh you know the usual." Zaria shrugged.

"Yeah, we got a great bargain." the Lasat wrapped an arm around the Sith pureblood's shoulders.

"Are these Imperial supplies?" Hera put her hands on her hips.

"They were, before Zeb and I blew up the base and stole everything." Zaria answered flippantly.

Kanan groaned and rubbed his temples.

"I don't even want to know. Let's just get back to Lothal."

Zaria punched Zeb's arm.

"Think we should mention, the crime ring of dangerous Twi'lek ladies we took on?"

The Lasat shook his head.

"Nah! They wouldn't be able to handle it."

"Crime ring?!" Hera shouted.

"Dangerous Twi'lek ladies?!" Kanan's jaw dropped.

Zeb snickered, Zaria slapped him on the back.

"Hey, Zeb want to want Galamore the warrior princess with me?"

Zeb cocked his head at her.

"What's it about?"

Zaria eagerly began to rant about the holo drama.

Kanan shook his head.

 **Next one sho** **t will be about Zaria and Ezra's first meeting.** **This took so long to get out. Work has been so crazy lately.** **But season two is really off to a good start, I love what they are doing.**

 **Not as long as my usual chapters, anyway hoped this was entertaining to read, let me know what you think.**

 **Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favoritedo, followed my story.**


	7. Chapter 7

_**CF Chapter 7**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Star wars rebels. I would like to thank the reviews, readers, favorites, and follows I have gotten. I'm glad people are liking my story.**_

 ** _Work has been very busy and I had some personal things that have kept me from writing but I hope you like the update._**

 _ **So with out further adu.**_

 _ **Chapter 7**_

 _ **The first meeting of Ezra and Zaria.**_

She crept past the two imperial officers. Letting the force guide her. Trust in the force her parents had always said. Zaria clenched her fist.

' _What good had the force done for her parents? They were both dead now. She was now on her own. No one to care for her, no one to train her or guide her. It was the Empire's fault_.'

The darkness crooned out her.

' _Snap, twist, bend, break those silly men in their plastoid armor. Those pathetic fools are nothing to the power we hold.'_

She felt her hand rise from her side. Her golden eyes glared hatefully at the troopers. She could just end their lives with a flick of her hand. She wanted to watch them struggle against her and fail. Watch the light leave their eyes.

A whisper from the force brought Zaria out of her dark thoughts.

She felt a ping through the force.

The air left her lungs.

That force signature.

It felt . . . . . . . like her baby brother's force signature.

That was impossible. She felt her family die in the force. The unborn Tayaz had been the first to die. Then her mother, last was her father. No, it wasn't quite the same.

This presence in the force was slightly different. Zaria turned her back on the Storm troopers. She could always kill troopers later. She had to find the source of the tremble she felt in the force.

She slunk away. She was on the hunt, nothing would stand in her way of finding the force signature.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria scoured high and low for the force sentient. But the signature had slipped from her fingertips like a plume of smoke. She cursed. The warrior retreated back to her abode. She brooded as she fixed herself supper.

"Master, is everything alright you seem agitated?" TZ -34 inquired.

Zaria didn't answer. She fell into her makeshift bed and closed her eyes.

 **This is a line break.**

The dark forms of the two sith lords cut into her father.

"I will not be your slave." Carior snarled using the force to break open the ship. He was sucked out into space. His lifeless body floated above Zaria. Her mother clutching her stab wound on her stomach, the blood dripped onto Zaria. Her entire form shook with emotions.

Zaria woke with a scream on her lips.

The warrior roared her rage and began to tear everything apart in her room. The very temple was shaken from the force of her hate and anger. Then she sunk to the ground and wallowed in her despair.

' _Done with your tantrum are you_?' the voice croaked inside her head. The ancient jedi relic reaching out to her.

She snarled at him.

' _DO NOT DISMISS MY PAIN, JEDI_!'

She didn't know why the annoying thing kept bothering her. This Yoda her mother had spoken about in hushed fond tones. He was little more than an old stubborn fool. She hated him. In Zaria's darker moments she often wondered why the jedi hadn't killed her when she had entered the temple. At her lowest, she wished he had. At least she could have joined her family.

' _Young one, not do any good to linger on such pain, it does. On such hatred. The dark side I sense in you! Only making yourself suffer, you are._ ' Yoda sounded like he was oddly pained himself.

Zaria rolled her eyes.

' _The dark serves it's purpose. As does the light. But I see no purpose in the light right now_.' the dark side was so much easier.

It crooned to her that she was justified. She would be vindicated if she gave in to her emotions. Set her chains free of pesky morals.

' _Not what your mother would have wanted, this is. To me that you are je'daii, you claimed. Hmmmm! Letting yourself be consumed by the dark, you are._ ' Yoda scolded.

' _Attachment is dangerous, I always said. Let them go, you must.'_

The Sith pureblood growled.

" _I do not want your advice! I don't understand you. You have lost everything and get you don't care. You feel nothing! It is your fault the Jedi fell. You made them weak. Don't lecture me about about attachments. Be gone_!" she shouted.

The presence of Yoda left.

She couldn't believe the thing's nerve. She pulled on her headdress and left the temple. Zaria quickly found a troop of Troopers.

She silently treaded behind them. Brutally killing them one by one. Enjoying the terror rolling off the humans when they realized they were being picked off.

She fed her hate and anger into the darkside. Giddy at the power it gave her. So addictive that power. The sharp focus of the force signature cut her high short.

There it was again, stronger this time.

She looked between the remaining troopers and then back to the direction the force was pulling her towards.

Zaria left the trembling troopers after force persuaded the troopers to forget what happened. She was back on the hunt.

She sprinted fast trying to keep up with her prey. She rounded a corner and found . . . nothing. She kicked a wall in frustration.

Why was this eluding her? She was a decent tracker. How did the force signature keep slipping by her?

' _Why do we need to find that signature? It will only burden us. Stop searching for it_.' her darkness purred at her.

Zaria scowled. It was right. This was a waste of her time.

She left.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria tossed and turned in her bed. Visions rippled through her dreams. Then one settled in her dreams.

Zaria was standing tall. She was older dressed in armor. She looked like one of the murals back in the tombs on Korriban of the sith pureblood warlords. But her eyes. They were a molten ugly orange gold, rings of a bloody red in circled her pupils.

She strode down a long hallway.

The older Zaria was cold and aloof. The young and older warriors reached the door.

"Enter." the voice croaked.

Zaria entered the dark room and bowed to the cloaked figure sitting on a throne inside.

The young Zaria looked between the figure and her older self.

"Rise Inquisitor Sajtoir." the cloaked man ordered.

Inquisitor Sajtoir did so.

"What is thy bidding my master?" she asked, her head bowed submissively.

The old decrepit man cackled.

"Grand Inquisitor, I want you to hunt down a batch of rebels in the outer rim. Destroy them."

Inquisitor Sajtoir bared her sharp teeth. Her blood lust rising to feed the dark side.

"I live to serve."

Zaria was appalled to see how her older self was enslaved to the darkside. It bound her to . . . Zaria now saw the cloaked figure was the emperor. She reeled back in shock.

Was this a warning? Her future?

she watched in horror as Inquisitor Sajtoir. Tortured, maimed, slaughtered and killed the rebels as Zaria had done earlier to the troopers.

The dark crooning to her all the while.

' _Look at our power, see what we can do?'_

Zaria watched herself cut down many foes.

' _See how they kneel before us? We could show the galaxy a true sith empire. Let them coward in fear once more. Be crushed beneath our might_.'

Zaria could admit this felt better then feeling the all consuming agony of her broken bonds. The grief of her murdered family.

Her surroundings changed.

She saw her three year old self pretend to be asleep while listening in on her parents debate about the dark side.

"Ymira, the dark side is not evil. It is anger, pain, rage, death, decay, fear. I know your Jedi taught themselves to cut themselves off from all of their emotions. But what would the galaxy be like without the darker side?" Carior asked his wife.

Ymira frowned.

"I do not see how any of those things are good."

Carior shook his head.

"Ymira, without the dark the light holds no power. What need is there for it? All living beings feel the whole spectrum of emotions. Without fear think of how dangerous our galaxy becomes. Some beings are kept from their darker natures for fear of punishment. It can also save lives by warning people of danger." Carior was speaking passionately.

"Hate can help topple corruption, or it can ruin you. The dark is only evil when you allow yourself to be. It helps you see the light. Which is why I can use the dark and not lose myself to it. It is why I also do not lose myself to the light. Look what happened to your order and the very first Je'Daii order. They both fell."

Ymira cut in.

"How is serving and helping others bad?"

Carior sighed.

"Look at how different your order became during the war. They change, they went too far to protect the innocents. Made sacrifices to their selves to win the war at any cost. The Jedi of thousands years ago would have never approved of a clone slave army. They would have never stepped in. They did not even when Mandalorians were running amuck in the galaxy did they step in. The Sith and the jedi are two sides of the same coin."

They both became silent.

"I will try to be more understanding, Carior. Perhaps there is still much to learn." Ymira put a hand to Carior's cheek.

They kissed.

Little Zaria giggled.

Carior grinned at his daughter. He raised his fingers and forced tickled his tiny daughter. She fell off the bed laughing.

"Naughty girl. You should be sleeping." her father swung her up into his arms.

Her mother kissed her forehead.

"Sorry we kept you up my dear."

Zaria smiled.

"I'm glad you aren't fighting now."

Her parents both hugged her.

"We are too." her father laughed.

"Tomorrow you may continue your lessons with your father." Ymira stroked her daughter's hair.

Carior put a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"You mean that?"

She nodded.

"I no longer fear that I will lose Zaria to the dark side."

The family laid down and slept in each other's arms peaceful.

Zaria woke with tears streaming down her face.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria meditated bringing herself back into balance. TZ -34 hovered over her.

"You seem much better master."

Zaria nodded.

"I do feel better."

She stood and stretched.

"I have to go organize Vizago's files. He'll be mad I have been skipping out on work."

"Have a nice day master." TZ -34 waved goodbye.

She hopped onto her speeder bike.

She enter the base of the broken horn crime signet. Vizago glared at her when she walked in.

"Where have you been?!"

Zaria sat down across from Vizago.

"I'm here to work."

He sneered and crossed his arms.

"I have no need for little girls who don't show up for work."

Zaria inclined her head.

"True, and I am sorry. But I am still a good worker we both know that."

The crime lord looked thoughtful.

"My files are a mess go sort through them. And you are on sentry duty for the next two weeks. And docked pay."

Zaria nodded that sounded fair.

She got up.

"I'm glad you are done working through your child angst. But if it happens again. Favorite worker or not. You will regret it." Vizago promises.

"I will not." Zaria walks towards the files.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria sat atop a building watching the market in the street below her. The beings bartered and made deals. She bit into her Meiloorun fruit, it's juice ran down her face.

Her headdress was lowered so she could eat the fruit. A human boy wearing rags was quick as he pickpocketed the tourists.

Zaria's gold eyes reflected her mirth at the clever little thief.

He was very good.

He slipped away like a ghost before the people even knew they had been robbed.

He had been a young human. Eight standard years if Zaria had to guess.

He was thin and had a survivor's look about him. Zaria finished fruit and followed after him. It wasn't hard to catch up with him while jumping across rooftops.

The boy hid in an alley as troopers marched by. As if a switch had been flipped on in the boy. He was drowning in the dark side, hate and pain as he looked at the troopers. His pain felt familiar to her.

She narrowed her eyes as the boy lifted a stolen blaster. Aiming it at the troopers.

Zaria leaped down and pulled the boy into a headlock.

"Don't." she hissed in his ear. He struggled in her hold.

"It's one thing to steal in broad daylight. It's another to kill in broad daylight. You will only succeed in getting yourself killed."

The boy became feral in trying to break her hold. She dragged him away. Cursing silently in pain as the boy bit her.

She put a hand to his head used the force.

The boy went limp. Zaria was impressed by his fighting spirit. She draped the boy on the back of her speeder.

She drove to a grass plain.

She swiftly dodged the bolt the boy shot her way with his stolen blaster. He was shaking in fear.

Zaria laughed.

"I'm not going to kill you." the boy tensed as Zaria put a hand into her bag.

She held out the fruit to him.

"Eat, my name is Zaria Saijtoir."

The kid narrowed his eyes at her.

"You work for Vizago."

she shrugged.

"Yes, and you work for Ferpil Wallaway that irksome Xexto."

The boy hunched into himself. Feelings of disappear were blasted into the force.

"Not anymore."

Zaria knew what must have happened.

"The Empire has killed him. I'm sorry." she sat down next her speeder bike.

The boy clenched his fists.

"The empire is going to pay for what they've done. Ferpil, my parents." He growled the dark side creeping back in.

"My family was murdered by the empire as well. I understand your pain, your lost. We are both alone now." Zaria looked at the golden fields.

"Why'd you step in?" He regarded her with suspicion.

Zaria laughed.

"I understand your hate and anger at the empire. You heard about all of the troopers who gave gone missing?"

The boy nodded.

"That was you?"

Zaria lost her smile.

"Yes it was. I can kill as many Imperials as I want. But I have recently realized it won't bring back my family."

The boy scoffed.

"Don't lecture me. I don't need it."

He folded her arms across his chest.

The fruit still uneaten in his hand.

"What's your name?" Zaria asked.

"Ezra Bridger." He kicked a rock as he glared at her.

"How old are you?" He shot back.

"Ten." Zaria answered.

He blinked.

"Ten? That's only two years older than me. I thought you were older. You act like such a stuffy adult."

Zaria stuck out a leg and tripped him.

He wiped the dirt off his face and scowled at her. Ezra brushed the dirt off himself. His stomach growled.

"Eat the fruit." Zaria grabbed the fruit and stuffed it into his mouth.

She took the blaster from him.

"Your aim is horrible only relying on luck." she dragged him up.

"Come on I'm going to teach you how to shoot this blaster properly."

Ezra half heartedly protested.

"Fine." He muttered finishing off his fruit.

Zaria held the blaster out to him. He took it and held it clumsily.

Zaria corrected him.

"Hold it like this. Brace it against your shoulder. Helps with the recoil."

By sunset, Ezra's aim had improved.

Zaria closed her eyes. This boy was the force signature she felt.

He was strong, it was emerging from him.

He wouldn't last long if anyone unsavory found him. Like an Imperial Inquisitor.

Zaria jumped up.

She faced the human.

"You are all alone, just like me. We can help each other. Come with me." she held out her hand.

Ezra hesitated.

"How do I know I can trust you?"

Zaria took off her headdress.

"Search your instincts, Ezra Bridger. What do they tell you." Ezra blinked at her appearance. He closed his eyes. Zaria closed her own eyes. There it was a connection, a bond in the force.

Ezra opened his eyes.

"I . . . I feel we should work together. I can't explain it but it feels right."

Zaria beamed at him.

"I feel the same way. Come on let's go." she waved him over to her speeder bike.

He climbed on behind her wrapping his arms around her.

Zaria kicked off and they zoomed away.

 **This is a line break.**

' _Not staying in the temple, are you?'_ Yoda questioned her as she packed up most of her things.

' _I have found someone, he needs me. He anchors me. It is nice to have a family again.'_ Zaria tells him softly.

Yoda made a thoughtful sound.

' _The darkness sense not anymore with you. Different are you.'_

Zaria smirked.

' _Don't miss me too much old troll. I will be back to train soon.'_

' _Speak to you, nice it has been.'_ Yoda admits.

' _Not afraid anymore my evil sith ways will infect you?'_ Zaria teased.

' _Ymira's child you are.'_ Yoda tells her.

' _See your light can I. Goodbye it is then.'_

Zaria felt his presence fading away.

"Goodbye."

"Shall we go master?" TZ34 called.

"Yes." Zaria left the temple.

 **End of chapter 7**

 **So that was the story of how Ezra and Zaria met. Zaria was in a dark place for a while there. And so was Ezra.**

 **But they bring out the best in each other**.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. Oh geez, this chapter took a long time to write. I lost my job and then had to search for a new one. But all is well I found a new one. Hope you all in enjoy the new chapter.**

 **And I'm pretty excited by what I have seen in Season 3 so far.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has been reading my story. Thank you to those who reviewed, favorited, and followed.**

 **Chapter 8**

The wind rushed past Zaria's headdress. She sped her speeder up to catch up to Kanan, Ezra and Sabine.

"Aren't we going the wrong way?" Ezra yelled over the wind.

The imps were still chasing them.

The moon was peeking through the clouds.

"We don't want to lead them back to the Ghost. Follow me." Kanan ordered and his speeder accelerated and he turned sharply left. Zaria could see the outline of a town nearby.

She smirked. Kanan's plan was to lose them by splitting up.

Her fingers curled tighter against her handles. She had been going stir crazy.

She was a warrior, she needed to fight. She need to hit something. Zaria could feel that something was going to happen to her.

"See you you at the edge of town." Zaria waved to the others and veered off. Kanan shook his head at her. Troopers followed after her. She hadn't been able to cut loose in a while with how paranoid Hera and Kanan had gotten. They hadn't taken as many jobs from Vizago.

A blast hit a rock up ahead of her.

How cute that the troopers thought they could stay a chance against her. She sneered.

The Sith pureblood switched off her speeder bike and hopped off it. She held her hands up in mock surrender. The storm troopers fell god her ruse. They circled their bike to surround her. Their blasters pointed at her.

"In name of the galactic empire you are under arrest." the lead trooper got off his bike.

Zaria let out a blood curdling laugh. Her force aura projecting her bloodlust. Quick as light, Zaria raised her hands.

She could feel energy thumping under her skin. She released the energy into blue sparking force lighting. The men in front of her screamed as the energy crackled over their skin. Zaria felt so alive.

She had done it, she had made force lighting! Just like her father.

She dodged a shot from behind. She drew her sabers and grinned. The remaining troopers gulped in terror.

"Say your goodbyes gentleman." Zaria cackled high on her power.

She lunged forward and with three force dashes and strikes. Heads rolled to the ground. Zaria stretched her arms and climbed back onto her bike.

She was buzzing with excitement.

Force lightning. By the Bogan gods she had finally done it. She guided her bike to the front of the town. She followed the trail of unconscious troopers left behind by the others. She debated on cutting their heads off as she passed by. Zaria sighed and decided against it.

Her Com buzzed on her wrist.

"Specter seven, pick is a go. I repeat pick up is a go. Head to pick up spot." Kanan's voice crackled in the static.

"Roger that, Specter 1. I'm on my way to pick up. I will meet you in front of town." Zaria swerved her bike and headed for the warehouse. The old grumpy besalisk had his four flabby arms full of the medical and data pad supplies.

Zaria skidded to a stop.

She handed the besalisk his payment.

The warrior girl secured the supplies to the back of her bike.

In seconds she was already on track.

The imps had been taken care of, and the others were waiting for her.

"Let's get this back to Vizago." Kanan says revving his engine.

The ride to Vizago's camp was short.

Vizago was waiting for them.

Zaria was smiling under her headdress.

"You're in a good mood." Ezra raised an eyebrow at Zaria.

Zaria winked at him.

"I'll tell you and Kanan back at home."

"Is it a force thing?" Sabine guessed.

Zaria nodded.

"I'm feeling generous tonight." Vizago was saying to Kanan as they exchanged the supplies for payment.

"Here is some information you rebels will find useful. Grand Moff Tarkin is on Lothal. From what I hear, he isn't very happy about the rebel activities on Lothal."

Kanan's eyes widened.

"Thank you Vizago."

Vizago nodded.

"You have given me good business for the last couple of weeks."

Kanan walked back over to the teens.

"Let's get back to the ship. I gave an idea."

 **This is a line break.**

Kanan sat down looking at his team. His strange but loveable family.

"I have a plan." He announced.

Ezra's head perked up.

"What is it?"

"Yes love, what is it?" Hera put a hand on his arm. Zaria leaned back in her chair.

Sabine waited for Kanan to speak.

"Let's hear it." Zeb grunted.

"I have been doing some thinking about the messages, Travis and Ezra's parents." Kanan leaned forward on his hands.

Ezra blinked in surprise.

"My parents?"

Kanan nodded.

"I have been studying their equipment and journals. I think we should broadcast our own message of hope to the citizens of Lothal and any other system near by."

Jaws dropped.

"Kanan! That's very dangerous." Hera hissed.

"We are supposed to keep a low profile."

"The empire would trace the signal, no problem." Ezra looked down at the floor. Fear curling in the pit of his stomach. The holo broadcast his parents had done had gotten them killed. He didn't want to lose his new family.

"I don't get it, how would a broadcast help?" Zeb frowned.

"People are afraid and losing hope. We have to get it back for them. We have to stop hiding and let the empire know that people aren't just going to take their abuse anymore." Kanan clenched his fist.

"But like Ezra said. The empire would track us in seconds." Sabine folds her arms across her chest.

"Not if the signal comes from one of their own Com towers." Kanan grinned.

Zaria barked out a laugh.

"That might actually work."

Even Hera looked more eager.

"And what would we say in this message? This plan is crazy you guys know that right?" Ezra ran his fingers through his hair.

"Something the empire never talks about the truth. People need to know what's going on out here." Kanan looked around the room.

"Who's ready to do this?"

Hera smiled fondly at Kanan.

"If you think it's a good plan. Than I will support you."

Zeb yawned.

"I never say no to knocking around imps."

Sabine smirked.

"Chopper and I can get a slicer spike ridged up in no time."

Chopper beeped in agreement.

"If I might make the suggestion of the forty six sector communication tower. It would have the strongest signal."

TZ34 suggested.

"Good plan, TZ34." Kanan nodded.

Zaria templed her fingers together.

"It seems risky. But I think you're right Kanan. Right now across the galaxy there are sparks of revolution. But this could start a fire. If that happens it may well be worth the risk. But let's not rush into things."

Zaria stood.

"We need to scope out our options. And the equipment from the Briggers is old. It needs to be updated if we want it to do widespread broadcasting."

Zaria walked over to Kanan's side.

"Do you and Ezra volunteer to tinker with it?" Kanan looks at them.

"Yeah, I'm sure Zaria and I can figure something out." Ezra looked confident.

"Good, now let's eat dinner." Kanan clapped his hands.

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria cursed.

"Kodel gal nu nenx itik sis status zhol meo mazo patogus galas naktis." *

So far she had not been able to create any more Sith lightning. Whatever had let her access it last night was gone.

The Sith pureblood could feel herself out of balance in the force. She had been using to much of the dark side of the force lately.

And she was frustrated she couldn't figure out how to make her Sith lightning work.

The dark had always come easier to her. It felt like she had taken steps back. Her progress being lost in her.

Zaria clenched her fists.

She had found a new family. Made new bonds. The crew of the Ghost was her family now. She feared losing them.

Her friends dying and leaving her on her own again.

Zaria would kill as many imps as she needed. She could be the one to soak her hands in blood. As long as it kept them safe. Zaria hissed in pain as the training droids shot a blasting bolt to her leg.

Her blacked out visor helmet cracked with another shot. She was losing focus.

"Zaria!" Kanan called out to her in the force and out loud. Zaria flung off the visor and turned to face the jedi. His beaming light in the force made her cringe. Her signature was always a shining gray. Now it was being tinged with black and red.

She used the force to crush the tiny circular droids.

"Yes?" She bit out short temperedly.

"Is everything alright, Zaria? I'm a little worried about you." Kanan's voice and force presence soothed Zaria.

She sighed heavily.

"I don't . . . . . I've been killing troopers. Lots of them, and I enjoy it. I enjoy it Kanan. It's just how I am. My whole being presses me to fight, to eliminate threats." Zaria was pacing now.

"I've been trying to fit in. Abide by your example. But I am attached to the crew. I'm so afraid of losing you. I don't want to go through that again."

Zaria was rambling now. Embarrassed she wiped at her eyes.

"Zaria." Kanan grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Breathe."

Zaria paused and closed her eyes.

She took a deep breath.

Kanan sat down on the ground. He pulled Zaria down next to him.

"I knew about the troopers." He admitted.

"You did?" Zaria blinked.

He nodded.

"You're not as sneaky as you think. Look Zaria, I realize that we have different viewpoints." Kanan looks down at his hands.

"Realistically killing the troopers is a sound strategy. I know you don't make them suffer, it's quick and painless. I'm not going to tell you that you're a bad person for killing them. Because you're not."

Zaria swallowed.

"Zaria up until I met Ezra, I wasn't a practicing Jedi. I've had to kill to survive. You need to do what you think is right.

And as for the matter of attachment." Kanan reached down and gripped her hand. "I've learned that attachment isn't a bad thing. It can be wonderful. But Zaria, you can't be afraid of losing us. It is going to happen. Maybe not today, many not tomorrow. But everyone dies, even stars die."

Zaria felt tears drip down her face.

It was free of her headdress.

Kanan hugged her.

"It's okay to care and love us. But you need to let go of the fear of losing us. You're strong and if need be you can go on without us."

Zaria was sobbing now, feeling her emotions and letting them go.

Kanan held her close.

"Thank you Kanan." Zaria wiped at the snot on her nose.

"I appreciate you coming to talk with me."

Kanan smiled.

"Come on Ezra is waiting for us. Some meditation will do you some good."

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria breathed in and out.

Objects were floating around her.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

She was sinking into the force.

Zaria let it guide her.

A young human male bowed to an dark figure.

"Ram Kota is dead my master." The human reached for a light saber from his belt and presented it to his master.

"Were the witnesses taken care of?" The dark man demanded of him coldly.

"Of course my master. None survived." The boy sunk lower into his bow.

"You have done well my apprentice. I have another task for you. There is a prisoner on their way to the planet Mustafar. It is imperative that she is not in Imperial custody. You will release her." The master orders. Like a good apprentice.

The boy does not questions the demand.

"Your will is mine master, it will be done."

"Once you have freed the prisoner, you will await further instructions."

The vision was fading, slipping away from Zaria. The objects clattered to the floor.

She felt Ezra poking her.

"Wake up sleepy head." Ezra snickered.

"Kanan wants to train outside the ship."

Zaria opened her eyes.

"Everything okay?" Ezra asked.

"I'm fine. I was having a vision." Zaria stood up.

"A vision?" Kanan paused at the door.

"What about? Our mission?"

Zaria shook her head.

"It wasn't clear. But no, it wasn't about our mission. There was a boy. He killed a jedi, named Ram Kota. That's all I can remember it's fading now." Zaria sighed in frustration.

Kanan froze.

"Ram Kota?" He frowned.

"Do you know him, Kanan?" Ezra questioned.

"The name is familiar." Kanan stroked his chin.

"Well, let's get outside. I have something I think I can teach you."

Zaria quirked an eyebrow stalk.

"You think?"

Kanan chuckled.

"It's called Shatterpoint. I'm actually hoping teaching the two of you will help me learn it better."

Standing in the grassy plains of Lothal.

Kanan cleared his throat.

"Shatterpoint is a force technique rediscovered by my Grand master, Mace Windu. This force phenomena will show you weak points in anything. People, objects, events." Kanan explained.

"That sounds incredibly useful." Zaria was awed.

"I know the basics of it. Unfortunately I never learned more after Mace and my master died." Kanan rubbed the back of his neck.

"But I thought if I taught you two the basics it might help me out with it."

Zaria nodded.

"I also have two techniques, I'm having trouble with."

Ezra looked surprised.

"You? You're having trouble with the force? But it always comes so naturally to you."

Zaria smirked. Her canines glinting in the sun light.

"Everyone has their off days. Ezra you should teach us how you master beasts. It will improve your skill. I'm having trouble with Sith lightning, and battle meditation." Zaria waited for Kanan's reaction to her first skill. She was relieved when he merely nodded.

"I don't know if I will be much help with the Sith technique. But I do remember reading some old text logs and something in my holocron about it." Kanan supplied helpfully.

"This is also something about it in my holocron. But I just can't seem to get to it. It's a very old holocron. I have a hard time getting past any of my parents entries."

Zaria frowned.

"Well for now let's focus on the techniques maybe after the mission we will have more time to investigate our holocrons."

Kanan gracefully sat down.

Ezra and Zaria followed his example.

Kanan placed three corusca gems on the ground in front of them.

"This is what Mace had me use to practice on. It's important to know shatterpoints can be used to destroy or fix. You must be cautious before using it." Kanan lectured.

Using the force, Kanan made a gem float in the air above his hand.

"You must reach into the force. Look for the weaknesses of the gem. Once the force has shown you the shatterpoints you either destroy or fix the gem." Kanan closed his eyes. Zaria and Ezra did the same.

The two younger force users let the force flow through them. They focused on the gem.

Kanan focused on his gem. Searching for its shatterpoint. The jedi didn't have to search any longer. He could see the exact point of weakness in the gem.

Kanan smiled. Just explaining the technique has helped him immensely.

He opened his eyes.

Ezra had his face in a grimace. Not finding anything in the gem. Zaria's face was deep in concentrate but she also was having trouble.

"It's okay if you two don't get it on the first try. It took me a whole month to even start to see the shatterpoints. I still have trouble." Kanan encouraged them.

"Hey Kanan can you show us?" Ezra requested.

Kanan nodded.

The two watched the jedi close his eyes. The gem floated above his hand.

Kanan found the shatterpoint quicker this time. Zaria and Ezra watched the gem closely. Ezra's eyes widened at the cracks forming on the gem. The large crack inside the middle. The cracks joined together and the gem shattered.

"That was awesome!" Ezra yelled.

"Your masters would be proud Kanan." Zaria smiled. Kanan opened his eyes and the shards of the gem dropped to the ground.

"It's been a long time since I have been able to do that. I would have never gone back to the force if I hadn't met the two of you." Kanan stood.

"Ezra why don't you shows your taming skills. You've gotten better at it than me."

Ezra shrugged modestly and walked to his left.

He closed his eyes.

"I can sense three loth cats. A family. I don't really know how to explain it. But I have this connection with creatures. I just feel the bond and ask them to listen to me."

Ezra sat down and reached out to one of the loth cats.

Kanan and Zaria did the same.

The loth cats wandered over to them.

A small loth cat jumped onto Zaria's lap and purred.

She petted it's fur. It was fascinating to watch her brolin connect with the animals.

Both Kanan and Zaria already had a passing education in this skill.

But Ezra truly had a gift.

Ezra stood and stretched.

"So Zaria I guess your up."

Zaria shooed the little loth cat off.

"Well Sith lightning is a difficult technique to learn. My father was brilliant at it."

Zaria smiled.

"My father used it to overload droids, coms, and on one occasion a ship. He could use it as a shield, he could redirect it. He could knock people out or kill them. And he could focus some in his hand and grab lightsaber with it."

Ezra whistled.

"That's wizard!"

Kanan looked intrigued.

"To be honest I've only ever heard of it being shot out from Sith's hands. I had no idea it had so many other applications."

Zaria scoffed.

"Those Sith pretenders have no imagination."

"So how do you make it work?" Ezra asks.

"Well, other Sith use hate or anger. But my father used jubilation or fury. It feels like you're touching a power grid. The energy gathers in your body and once it builds up. You release it. As of right now I can only build up the energy and maybe shoot it out of my hands." Zaria sighed.

"Show us the process. Perhaps if I look with my shatterpoint I can tell you where you're going wrong." Kanan suggested.

Zaria gaped at him.

"That is the single most amazing idea I have ever heard."

Kanan laughed.

"I heard it's how Mace Windu helped other masters prefect their own force specialties."

Zaria closed her gold eyes and focused on building up the energy in her body.

She moved it to her hands. The energy was resisting. Zaria pushed it out anyway and then it fizzled out as it hit the air.

"I think I saw some sparks." Ezra offered.

Kanan looked thoughtful.

"It looks good until you force it out of you. I think you need to let it flow out instead. Try it again."

"What are you guys doing?" Zeb asked as he and Sabine walked towards them.

"Zaria is trying to shoot lightning from her fingertips." Ezra answered not looking up from Zaria's red hands.

Zaria was deep in concentration.

Kanan's eyes closed watching in the force.

Zeb yelped as a bolt of purple Sith lightning shot out near his feet. The dirt turning into glass from the heat. Zaria jumped up and pumped a fist into the air.

"I did it! I did it!" she cheered.

"Should we be worried?" Zeb grunted as Zaria laugh and began to spark.

Kanan shook his head.

"Nah, it will be fine."

"I'd be more worried for our enemies." Sabine snickers.

"So how goes the force training?" Sabine looks at Zaria chasing Ezra around and trying to give him a shock.

"It went really well today." Kanan answers.

Zeb growled and picked both of the younger force user up.

"That's enough of that you two." He scolded. "Hera says it's time to eat." Sabine smiles.

"She sent us out to get you three."

"Zaria, Ezra, Food." Kanan called out. The two were wrestling Zeb to the ground.

 **This is a line break.**

Sabine was working on the spikes for the mission. Zaria sat at the workbench.

She was adjusting the old Bridger transceiver.

"I though Ezra and you were supposed to update that old thing together?" Sabine looked up.

"Ezra decided not to." Zaria shrugged.

"Oh, I see." Sabine says sadly.

"Ezra's strong, he'll be okay." Zaria fiddled with the components inside the machine.

"I'm glad you're here with us. It's nice to have another girl who's around my age." Sabine admits.

Zaria grinned.

"It's nice to be around people again. As far as roommates go. You're not bad."

"After the mission we should spar. We have really gotten the chance to." Sabine suggests.

Zaria nodded.

"Yes, sparring with you should be fun. No force, no weapons, just hand to hand. I've seen that you practice imperial and mandalorian styles."

Sabine nodded.

"I'm interested in your styles. Teräs Käsi and

Enchani right?"

Zaria grinned.

"My father taught them to me."

Sabine grinned back.

"My mother taught me mine."

 **This is a line break.**

Zaria perched on the high rise above the road to the main imperial communication tower. She was full of nervous energy the vision she had had last night had shaken her. If they weren't on such an important mission. Zaria would have spoken with Kanan about it more.

"TZ34 picked right. This tower handles all of the coms for every imperial operation on the planet. Including the empire's HoloNet broadcasts." Kanan says looking to Sabine. Sabine pulled down the sensor on her mandalorian helmet and checked the defenses.

"They've got four squads of troopers guarding the perimeter and Three anti-ship guns. Not an easy trip to the front door."

Sabine sighed.

Kanan smiled.

"Let's not underestimate ourselves."

Ezra shrugged his shoulders.

"What's the worse that could happen?"

Zaria snorted.

"Getting in will be easy, getting out on the other hand. The moment we start our attack. Reinforcements will be on their way in matter of minutes."

Sabine frowned under her helmet.

"That's true this mission will have serious time constraints. We have to be quick and fast. The data spikes would take at least five minutes to upload Chopper's and my programming into the central computer." Sabine stared at the tower.

"Then after uploading we should be able to transmit from the Bridgers' machine."

Kanan looked determined as he gazed at the tower.

"Three would be better."

Sabine crossed her arms with irritation.

"You can have it good or you can have it fast."

"Having it good is our best option." Zaria agreed.

"The empire won't know what hit them." Ezra grinned.

"Alright, Sabine scan us a holo map and let's get out of here." Kanan ordered.

Zaria's sensitive ears picked up on a shuttle traveling up the road.

"Shuttle!" she hissed in warning and went flat on top of the high rise they were spying on top of. The others did the same.

It passed by underneath them.

A Droid detached itself from the rear.

Zaria groaned.

"It's one of those new annoying imperial spy bots."

Sabine leveled a blaster at the droid.

"Imperial probe droid." Sabine corrected her. "Can it see us?" Ezra questioned.

"Not yet." Sabine readied her blasters.

"We need to move." Kanan tensed as the droid passed under them.

"It's going to see our bikes, their right by their road." Ezra hissed.

Sabine aimed her blasters.

Ezra held up a hand.

"Wait, if we shoot it then they will know something's up. Let me try something." Ezra closed his eyes and stretched out his hand. The force reached out searching.

Ezra connected with a loth-cat.

He suggested the animal attack the tiny floating droid. The loth cat growled and sprang into the air. The little droid didn't stand a chance. Zaria snickered as the loth cat's claws scratched and bit the bot.

The Droid whined and it's power core was smoking. The spy bots were not meant for battle. It didn't take much to destroy one. The Droid clanked to the ground. The loth cat hissed and ran off.

"Good job my little brolin. I have to say you're becoming quite the beast tamer." Zaria ruffled her little brother's hair.

Kanan looked proud of his padawan.

"Okay I'm impressed. We should start calling you Lord of the beasts." Sabine chuckled.

They slid down and jumped onto their bikes. "Let's get out of here." Kanan led the way back to the ship.

 **This is a line break.**

They gathered around the mess table.

Sabine was installing the data spikes into Chopper. Zeb was cleaning his weapon for the mission.

"Well spikes have been installed. Chopper can upload the programing to the computer core from any terminal." Sabine gave Chopper a find pat.

Chopper beeped.

"Stop complaining bolt brain. You have the easy job." Zeb grunted.

"And the range of the spike?" Kanan stroked his chin.

"As long as the tower is transmitting and hooked up to the holonet. It's range is as far as the nearest systems by Lothal. We're good to go." Sabine grinned.

"Everyone will hear what we say. Well anyone who has their mandatory imperial channel on. Which would be quite a few."

TZ34 stepped forward.

"I have also made a modification to the spikes that will allow our transmitter to use emergency imperial channel. It will reach more people."

Zaria smiled.

"Good job TZ34."

"Thank you mistress." TZ34 looked quite proud of himself.

"All right once the spikes are uploaded we signal." Kanan stopped pacing the room.

"And I will be waiting to spirit you away in the Phantom." Hera confirmed the plan.

"You got it. That's the plan." Kanan smiled at Hera.

Sabine rolled her eyes.

"Because things always go according to the plans."

Ezra's mood fell.

"She's right about that." He muttered.

"What's wrong?" Kanan walked over to the seated Ezra.

"Nothing." Ezra shrugged.

Zaria raised an eyebrow stalk.

"Come on let's take a walk." Kanan led Ezra out of the room.

"I'm going to go prepare for the mission." Zaria left to her shared room.

She hooked her sabers and blasters to her belt. The Sith pureblood wrapped her headdress around her head.

She rummaged around in her closet for her armor. Her father had made it for her. Strong but light as not to hamper her speed. Zaria sat down on her bunk waiting for the call to leave. She couldn't shake the uneasy feeling of something bad going to happen.

 **This is a line break.**

It was a beautiful night. The two moons were full and shone brilliantly down on the grass plains. Zaria's keen gold eyes could pick out the shadow of Sabine on her speeder with a tank of explosives hooked behind her. The mission was going well. But she still couldn't shake the feeling of something being off. The plan was in action. Zeb barreled towards the anti-ship guns. Chopper jammed the imps coms.

Zaria grinned as she slaughtered the troopers. Kanan, Sabine, Ezra and Chopper ducked into the com tower to upload their spike. Zaria threw her sabers and pulled them back into her hands using the force. Bodies toppled to the ground, heads rolled.

Zaria frowned and a dressed her com.

"Hang on, Ezra how many squads were here yesterday?"

"There were four squads." He answered.

"I only see two squads worth of troopers here." Zaria glared at the dead troopers.

"Zaria, Zeb, we have incoming the Imperial are on their way." Kanan warns them through their coms.

"It's a trap!" Zaria hissed.

The Sith pureblood looked out upon the horizon.

"I see four shuttle transports and three air transports headed our way." Zaria reported. "Zeb use the guns to knock out as much as their forces you can managed."

"Good thinking, Sabine we're gonna need you to speed up." Kanan ordered.

Zaria felt a shiver in the force.

She gasped as she felt the Pal'uan Inquisitor in the force.

' _Kanan_!' Zaria cried out into the force.

' _It's not just imperials! The Inquisitor is on an air transport_.'

' _Oh no_.' Kanan and Ezra exited the com tower. Kanan's eyes met hers.

Ezra frowned at them.

"Are you two talking through the force?"

"Ezra go get Zeb from the guns." Kanan barked.

"But I-" Ezra began.

"Go!" Kanan ordered.

Ezra grumbled and ran off the gun Zeb was shooting.

"Specter 1 to phantom. We're going to change our pick up." Kanan spoke into his com.

"Not a good idea spector one." Hera warned.

"The plan is changing Specter two. Just keep you eyes on the skies, We'll meet you up there." Kanan tells the pilot.

"Copy that." Hera confirmed.

The rebels regrouped at the entrance to the com tower.

"So what's the plan now?" Ezra yelled over the sound of incoming blaster fire.

"I want all of you inside the tower. Get to the top so Specter two can pick us up." Kanan pushed Ezra and Sabine back towards the door.

"Take the lift to the top." Kanan ordered.

Zaria stared up at the sky. Her blood boiling for a fight.

"Wait what about you and Zaria?" Ezra shouted, Zeb pushing him along.

"We'll take the next one." Kanan urges the other forward.

"Ezra!" Kanan stops his padawan a moment.

"May the force be with you."

Ezra nodded.

The doors closed behind the others.

Zaria reignited her sabers and stabbed the door controls. Agent Kallus got out from a shuttle. His troopers got out behind him.

"Now this is a familiar situation." the ISB Agent drawled.

"Sane situation, same ending. You lose." Kanan bantered. His lightsaber still drawn in a defensive position.

Zaria was searching for an opening.

"I don't think so, rebel." Agent Kallus gazed up at the air transports.

The Inquisitor jumped down gracefully.

Zaria snarled.

The Inquisitor smirked at the two.

He frowned when he saw that the door controls were fried. His gold eyes stared up at the top of the tower. Ezra, Sabine, Zeb and Chopper had made it to the top.

"What did you hope to gain by coming here?" The Inquisitor looked amused as the troopers in an air transport opened fired on their friends.

Zaria snorted and rolled her own gold eyes.

"You're clever figure it out." Kanan ran at the Sith force user. The practice had paid off. Kanan could hold his ground and even go on the offensive now.

"You've sharpened your skills Jedi. I assume it was the girl's doing." The Inquisitor sneered as he met Kanan's lightsaber head on.

Zaria turned her attention to the twelve troopers that Agent Kallus brought with him.

Zaria pounced and stabbed a trooper through the chest. She lazily deflected their shot back at them with her gold light saber. She lifted her free hand and closed a hand of the force on the remaining troopers necks. Zaria cackled when she closed her fist. Agent Kallus flinched at the sound of snapping necks.

"You're very much improved." The Inquisitor held his side still stinging from Kanan's force kick. He looked unwilling impressed by how much Kanan had grown since their last battle.

"There is someone who would like to meet the two of you. Surrender now, and he might let your friends live." The Inquisitor appeared to be winded.

' _Trust me, and put away your sabers_.' Kanan looked at Zaria.

She blinked and straighten from her crouch. ' _I hope you know what you're doing_.'

The two Rebels turned on their sabers and hooked them to their belts.

The Inquisitor's eyes widened in surprise at the surrender.

"Unexpected." He muttered.

Kanan's comlink beeped.

Hera shot down from the sky and blasted two of the air transports. The third retreated down to the ground.

Zaria forced pushed the Inquisitor and Kanan swung his blue saber at the dark user. Hera had the phantom's ramp extended.

Ezra's head peaked out from the railing.

"Zaria! Kanan!" He shouted.

' _Go little brolin.'_ Zaria urged.

She was blocking shots from the troopers, so they wouldn't interrupt Kanan's fight.

Kanan groaned and Zaria turned to look behind her.

Kanan's lightsaber was in the Pal'uan's hands, the Sith practitioner had Kanan pinned against the broken door of the com tower with the force.

"Specter two, get out of here." Kanan ordered into his com.

"Negative, Specter one. We are not leaving you behind." Hera's voice cracked.

"That's an order." Kanan growled.

The phantom hovered above the tower then it jettisoned away.

The Inquisitor released Kanan. The human jedi fell to his knees. Zaria deactivated her saber. She hurried to Kanan's side.

Kanan smiled sarcastically at the Inquisitor.

"Look like we have time to meet your friend after all."

The Inquisitor lifted a hand and Zaria's sabers flew off her belt and into the waiting Sith user's hands.

Zaria let the frightened troopers cuff her.

Kanan's received the same treatment.

An air transport landed and Zaria recognized the human stepping out of it. She had seen him in the holo-casts.

Grand Moff Tarkin.

He had his thin nose up in the air, his arrogance rolling off him into the force.

"Well done Inquisitor, theses are the results I expect." He inspected the three lightsaber the Pal'uan handed to him.

"So these are the _jedi_ in question." Tarkin tone when he said jedi. Led Zaria to believe he didn't truly believe they were jedi.

"Whatever you want from us. You won't be getting it." Kanan glared defiantly up at the old man.

"Sir, we have a problem." Agent Kallus saluted Tarkin.

"What is it?" Tarkin sounded like an exasperated strict grandfather. He glared at the ISB Agent.

"It appears the insurgents have gain control of the tower's transmitter." Kallus held up his com unit.

Ezra's voice cracked on the holo frequency.

"We have been called criminals. We are not. We are rebels fighting for the people, fight for you. I'm not that old but I remember a time when things were better on Lothal. Maybe not great, but it was livable. Do you see what the empire had done? To your lives, to your children, your families? Your freedom?"

Zaria laughed.

"Stars! Are we good or what? The message is literally being sent out to every frequency there is. Ezra sounds good don't you think Kanan. Inspiring."

Kanan looked proud.

Tarkin looked livid.

"Get the prisoners onto my transport." The grand Moth barked.

Zaria stood next to Kanan. Agent Kallus had his blaster pointed at her back.

"The Empire will only get worse. Unless we all stand together and fight back. It won't be easy. There will be loss and sacrifice. But we can't back down just because we're afraid. That's when we need to stand the tallest. That's what my parents taught 's what my new family helped me remember."

Zaria sniffed and praised Ezra.

"My brolin is so articulate."

"Bring down the Com tower!" Tarkin gritted his teeth.

"We must stand together! Because that's when we are strongest! As one." Ezra's transmission was cut off as the Rockets hit the imperial com tower.

The earth rumbled from the shock wave of the enormous tower hitting the ground.

Kanan looked shocked.

Zaria cackled.

"Bold move Grand Moff. Now you won't have to call and report to your superiors. That you let an insignificant rebel cell communicate a message of hope."

Zaria smirked under her headdress. Tarkin's composure was slipping.

"This is just the beginning Tarkin." Her gold eyes met Tarkin's cold blue ones. She could see the tightening of his jaw under his waxy skin.

"In the history of our galaxy there have been thousands of empires. Yours won't even compared to the great Empires of our past. This pathetic collation of imperials are nothing compared to the great first Sith empire. To the ruthless Eternal empire. To the evil Rakata empire. I looked forward to watching yours crumbled." Zaria purred darkly. Her dark side of the force leaked out and suffocated the air. Oh how sweet it would be to see these Sith pretenders fall. How easy it would be to wrap the force around the weak human's neck and snap.

She hated the Empire.

' _ZARIA_!' Kanan yelled through their bond.

' _Stop, please stop_.'

Zaria sighed, she released her anger, her hate, bloodlust, and darkness into the void.

' _Sorry_.' Zaria looked to Kanan apologetically.

All of the men in the transport sucked in air.

Agent Kallus was staring at her, uneasy fear creeping up on him.

Tarkin straightened.

"You do not know what it takes to win a war. I do. I would not expect a foolish young girl to understand this."

Zaria snarled.

A prick stabbed her neck.

Zaria's vision blurred.

Her knees buckle, Kanan dropped to the floor next to her. The effects of the drugs taking effect.

Zaria glared up at the Grand Moff. Before her strength gave out and she lost herself.

 **End of chapter 8**

 ***** Why can I not get this right? It was so easy last night.


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